Girl's name
Elsie
Say it EL-see
Roots in Scots and Hebrew 2 syllables
Where Elsie is loved, common and rare
Loved in England and Wales and one more place. Common across Scotland, Northern Ireland, Sweden and five more places. Rare in Canada, Norway, Austria and three more places.
1 in 132 girls born in Northern Ireland in 2025
England and Wales 8thScotland 21stNorthern Ireland 23rd
LovedCommonRare
Every place
In 18 of the 40 official lists, among them England and Wales (8th), Scotland (21st) and Northern Ireland (23rd).
Show all 18 placesShow less
| Place | Rank | Girls | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| England and Wales | 8th 2025 | 1,700 | 1 in 149 |
| South Australia state | 8th 2025 | 67 | rank only |
| Queensland state | 16th 2025 | 161 | rank only |
| Scotland | 21st 2025 | 135 | 1 in 133 |
| Northern Ireland | 23rd 2025 | 55 | 1 in 132 |
| New South Wales state | 24th 2025 | 187 | rank only |
| Victoria state | 29th 2025 | 171 | rank only |
| New Zealand | 42nd 2025 | 74 | rank only |
| Sweden | 53rd 2025 | 175 | about 1 in 230 |
| Ireland | 55th 2025 | 88 | 1 in 240 |
| British Columbia province | 103rd 2023 | 28 | about 1 in 427 |
| Ontario province | 184th 2024 | 61 | about 1 in 893 |
| Quebec province | 327th 2025 | 16 | about 1 in 1,625 |
| Norway | 364th 2025 | 8 | 1 in 2,724 |
| Austria | 1875th 2025 | 1 | 1 in 35,722 |
| France | 2317th 2025 | 10 | 1 in 28,679 |
| Italy | 4773rd 2024 | 1 | 1 in 179,169 |
| Leipzig city | 344th 2025 | 1 | about 1 in 2,624 |
Rare, below the listed names: the Netherlands, Switzerland, Berlin, Munich, Cologne, Bonn, Rostock, Spain, Catalonia, Poland, Hungary, Slovenia and Israel.
Not in a short top list, so no figure: Nova Scotia (top 21), Denmark (top 50), Finland (top 50), Iceland (top 10), Estonia (top 25), Moscow (top 61), Turkey (top 30), Argentina (top 20) and Croatia (top 50).
Germany publishes no national statistics on first names. German figures here are city lists (Berlin, Munich, Cologne, Bonn, Leipzig, Rostock), never the country.
Sources: Office for National Statistics (England and Wales); SA Attorney-General's Department, Births, Deaths and Marriages (data.sa.gov.au) (South Australia); Queensland Registry of BDM (Qld Open Data Portal) (Queensland); National Records of Scotland (Scotland); NISRA (Northern Ireland); NSW Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages (Data.NSW) (New South Wales); Registry of BDM Victoria (DataVic) (Victoria); Department of Internal Affairs (DIA), SmartStart (New Zealand); Skatteverket (Swedish Tax Agency) (Sweden); Central Statistics Office (CSO) (Ireland); BC Vital Statistics Agency (BC Data Catalogue) (British Columbia); Ontario Office of the Registrar General (Ontario Data Catalogue) (Ontario); Retraite Québec (Banque de prénoms, Données Québec) (Quebec); Statistics Norway (SSB) (Norway); Statistik Austria (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1) (Austria); INSEE, Fichier des prénoms (édition 2025) (France); ISTAT, Contanomi (Italy); Stadt Leipzig, Standesamt (opendata.leipzig.de) (Leipzig). How we count, and every source
About the name
Elsie began in Scotland as a diminutive of Elspeth, the Scots form of Elizabeth, and of Alison and Alice. Through Elizabeth it goes back to Hebrew. It was already a popular name in its own right around 1900, well before its current return.
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EL-see is two syllables with a crisp, friendly sound. Elsi and Elsy are occasional spellings, and Else is a related form used in German and the Scandinavian languages.
Elsie is enjoying a strong revival. It is in the top ten in England and Wales and in South Australia, it ranks well in Queensland, and it has a following in Sweden. It is rising widely and falling nowhere. In Canada its heyday came in the early twentieth century, so today's Elsies are reviving a name that many great-grandmothers carried.
Meaning, origin, pronunciation
- Pronounced
- EL-see, 2 syllables
- Origin
- Scots and Hebrew
- Other spellings
- Elsi
- Alison
- Elsy
- Else
- Elzie
Etymology
From a Scottish diminutive of Alison/Alice and Elspeth/Elizabeth; listed as a female given name from Hebrew, popular as a formal name around 1900.
From the Wiktionary entry, CC BY-SA 4.0, shortened.
Over time
Over five years: rising in 13 of 15 regions, falling in none.
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Rank in each place since 1996; higher on the chart is more popular.
Ten years of ranks
Her rank each year, English-speaking regions first. A blank means no published rank for her that year.
| Region | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England and Wales | 31 | 28 | 22 | 21 | 19 | 18 | 15 | 14 | 10 | 8 |
| Scotland | 89 | 71 | 68 | 71 | 52 | 58 | 32 | 31 | 31 | 21 |
| Northern Ireland | 59 | 85 | 63 | 57 | 49 | 52 | 34 | 28 | 27 | 23 |
| Ireland | 129 | 137 | 109 | 130 | 95 | 87 | 84 | 76 | 73 | 55 |
| Ontario | 289 | 315 | 260 | 193 | 192 | 202 | 146 | 148 | 184 | |
| British Columbia | 376 | 518 | 143 | 246 | 154 | 99 | 182 | 103 | ||
| New South Wales | 70 | 65 | 65 | 44 | 44 | 52 | 52 | 35 | 38 | 24 |
| Victoria | 85 | 76 | 51 | 59 | 55 | 52 | 46 | 40 | 28 | 29 |
| Queensland | 81 | 58 | 51 | 48 | 30 | 34 | 35 | 37 | 31 | 16 |
| South Australia | 73 | 33 | 40 | 18 | 19 | 30 | 20 | 23 | 17 | 8 |
| New Zealand | 89 | 94 | 76 | 73 | 61 | 53 | 73 | 46 | 42 | |
| Quebec | 522 | 414 | 601 | 330 | 526 | 360 | 342 | 339 | 254 | 327 |
| France | 1716 | 1692 | 2516 | 1995 | 1393 | 1640 | 1389 | 1879 | 2389 | 2317 |
| The Netherlands | 947 | |||||||||
| Norway | 503 | 430 | 385 | 364 | ||||||
| Sweden | 109 | 119 | 106 | 95 | 101 | 82 | 68 | 61 | 60 | 53 |
England and Wales, 1996 to 2025
| Year | Rank | Girls | per 100,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 8 | 1,700 | 671.2 |
| 2024 | 10 | 1,727 | 669.4 |
| 2023 | 14 | 1,662 | 647.8 |
| 2022 | 15 | 1,763 | 669.0 |
| 2021 | 18 | 1,840 | 671.4 |
| 2020 | 19 | 1,772 | 660.2 |
| 2019 | 21 | 1,760 | 628.5 |
| 2018 | 22 | 1,875 | 650.4 |
| 2017 | 28 | 1,704 | 569.7 |
| 2016 | 31 | 1,574 | 512.5 |
| 2015 | 33 | 1,513 | 491.3 |
| 2014 | 32 | 1,497 | 488.2 |
| 2013 | 47 | 1,181 | 382.9 |
| 2012 | 70 | 888 | 275.7 |
| 2011 | 87 | 699 | 217.5 |
| 2010 | 108 | 535 | 166.6 |
| 2009 | 124 | 437 | 139.4 |
| 2008 | 179 | 292 | 92.5 |
| 2007 | 224 | 227 | 74.2 |
| 2006 | 279 | 165 | 55.1 |
| 2005 | 361 | 110 | 38.2 |
| 2004 | 419 | 86 | 30.1 |
| 2003 | 408 | 88 | 31.6 |
| 2002 | 513 | 58 | 21.7 |
| 2001 | 627 | 41 | 15.3 |
| 2000 | 670 | 36 | 13.2 |
| 1999 | 678 | 35 | 12.4 |
| 1998 | 619 | 41 | 14.2 |
| 1997 | 645 | 38 | 13.0 |
| 1996 | 823 | 27 | 9.1 |
Sources: Office for National Statistics (1996-2025), OGL v3.
Ontario and British Columbia since 1925
Half of the babies named Elsie in Ontario and British Columbia since 1925 were born in or after 1939. First recorded in 1925. Her peak year there: 1925, at 643.0 per 100,000 girls.
Babies named Elsie per 100,000 girls born in Ontario and British Columbia, by five-year period. Her 1925 peak is averaged into its five-year period, so the line sits below it.
Sources: Ontario Office of the Registrar General (Ontario Data Catalogue) (1917-2024), OGL-Ontario; BC Vital Statistics Agency (BC Data Catalogue) (1924-2023), OGL-BC.
Sister names for Elsie
1 in 325 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Elsie. Same first letter as Elsie.
1 in 166 in England and Wales
Rose and fell with Elsie.
1 in 284 in England and Wales
Rose and fell with Elsie.
1 in 326 in England and Wales
Rose and fell with Elsie. Same first letter as Elsie.
1 in 335 in England and Wales
Rose and fell with Elsie.
1 in 125 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Elsie.
1 in 132 in England and Wales
Rose and fell with Elsie.
1 in 162 in England and Wales
Rose and fell with Elsie. Same first letter as Elsie.
1 in 160 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Elsie. Ends in -ie, like Elsie.
1 in 142 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Elsie.
Middle names for Elsie
1 in 57 in Northern Ireland
Elsie Grace
2-1 beats · initials EG
Changes the beat after Elsie: 2 syllables, then 1 syllable.
1 in 71 in Scotland
Elsie Olivia
2-4 beats · initials EO · Elsie slides into Olivia: vowel meets vowel.
Changes the beat after Elsie: 2 syllables, then 4 syllables. Elsie slides into Olivia: vowel meets vowel.
1 in 99 in Scotland
Elsie Sophia
2-3 beats · initials ES
Changes the beat after Elsie: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
1 in 311 in Ireland
Elsie Maria
2-3 beats · initials EM
Changes the beat after Elsie: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
1 in 214 in Northern Ireland
Elsie Rose
2-1 beats · initials ER
Changes the beat after Elsie: 2 syllables, then 1 syllable.
1 in 491 in Ireland
Elsie Julia
2-3 beats · initials EJ
Changes the beat after Elsie: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
1 in 1,286 in England and Wales
Elsie Miriam
2-3 beats · initials EM
Changes the beat after Elsie: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
1 in 78 in Northern Ireland
Elsie Emily
2-3 beats · initials EE · Elsie slides into Emily: vowel meets vowel.
Changes the beat after Elsie: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables. Elsie slides into Emily: vowel meets vowel.
Same style as Elsie
Names whose popularity rose and fell with hers across regions and decades.
1 in 335 in England and Wales
96% alike: moves with Elsie across countries and decades.
1 in 326 in England and Wales
95% alike: moves with Elsie across countries and decades.
1 in 142 in Scotland
95% alike: moves with Elsie across countries and decades.
1 in 57 in Northern Ireland
95% alike: moves with Elsie across countries and decades.
1 in 239 in England and Wales
94% alike: moves with Elsie across countries and decades.
1 in 132 in Northern Ireland
94% alike: moves with Elsie across countries and decades.
1 in 284 in England and Wales
94% alike: moves with Elsie across countries and decades.
1 in 240 in Ireland
94% alike: moves with Elsie across countries and decades.
Famous people named Elsie
Elsie Janis, Elsie Ferguson, Elsie de Wolfe, Elsie Clews Parsons, Elsie Widdowson, Elsie Owusu and Elsie Maud Wakefield.
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American actress (1889-1956)
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American actress (1883–1961)
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American actress and interior decorator (1865-1950)
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American anthropologist (1875-1941)
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British nutritionist (1906–2000)
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Ghana-born British architect born 1953
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British mycologist (1886-1972)
People: Wikidata (CC0), linked to Wikipedia in this page's language when an article exists.
Questions about Elsie
4 questions, on how popular she is, how to say it, whether she is rising and sister names.
Show all 4 questionsShow less
How popular is Elsie?
Her best rank is No. 8 in England and Wales in 2025, about 1 in 149 girls. She is in the published lists of 18 of our 40 regions.
How do you pronounce Elsie?
EL-see, with 2 syllables.
Is Elsie getting more popular?
Over five years: rising in 13 of 15 regions, falling in none.
Which sister names go with Elsie?
The deck's top five sisters for Elsie: Elizabeth, Mabel, Olive, Eleanor and Harriet. Each is scored on style, era, popularity and origin, with sound clashes flagged.