Elesa
An Italian feminine name meaning "industrious" or "diligent".
Name Census estimates that about 179 living Americans carry the first name Elesa. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Elesa today is around 53 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Elesa births was 1963 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Elesa. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
179
~ 1 in 1,914,829 Americans
Peak year
1963
15 babies that year
Average age
53
years old
2018 SSA rank
#16,360
Tracked since 1947
Popularity
Elesa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Elesa from the 1940s through to the 2010s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 81 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Elesa by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Elesa during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Elesa
The name Elesa has its origins in the Greek language and culture, dating back to ancient times. It is believed to be derived from the Greek word "eleos," which means "mercy" or "compassion." The name Elesa was not particularly common in ancient Greece, but it did appear in some historical records and writings from that era.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Elesa can be found in the works of the ancient Greek historian Herodotus, who lived in the 5th century BC. In his writings, he mentions a woman named Elesa who was a priestess in the city of Ephesus, located in what is now modern-day Turkey. However, there are few other details provided about this individual.
During the Byzantine era, which spanned from the 4th to the 15th century AD, the name Elesa gained a bit more popularity among Greek Christians. It was sometimes used as a variant of the name Elessa, which was derived from the Greek word "elpis," meaning "hope." Some historical records from this period mention women named Elesa, but they were generally not prominent figures.
In the Middle Ages, the name Elesa was less common, but it did appear occasionally in various parts of Europe, particularly in regions with Greek cultural influences. One notable figure from this time was Elesa of Montferrat, a 12th-century Italian noblewoman who was the wife of Boniface I, Marquess of Montferrat. She played a role in the political affairs of the time, but details about her life are scarce.
Another historical figure with the name Elesa was Elesa Barozzi, an Italian painter who lived in the 16th century. She was a member of the prestigious Accademia di San Luca in Rome and is known for her religious paintings and portraits. Her exact birth and death dates are uncertain, but she is believed to have been active in the mid-to-late 1500s.
In the 17th century, there was an Elesa von Beust, a German noblewoman who was a member of the Beust family, which had connections to the Electorate of Saxony. She lived from around 1620 to 1680, but not much is known about her personal life or accomplishments.
During the 18th century, the name Elesa appeared in some literary works, such as the novel "The Adventures of Elesa" by the French writer Marie-Jeanne Riccoboni, published in 1766. However, there are no particularly notable historical figures from this period who bore the name.
It is worth noting that while the name Elesa has ancient Greek roots, it has remained relatively uncommon throughout history, especially in more recent centuries. This is likely due to the prevalence of other Greek names, as well as the influence of other cultural and linguistic traditions.
People
Elesa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Elesa as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with E
Other first names starting with E with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Elesa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Elesa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 179 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Elesa going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,914,829 US residents.
Is Elesa a common name?
We classify Elesa as "Very Rare". It ranks above 72.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 216 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Elesa most popular?
The single biggest year for Elesa was 1963, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Elesa is about 53 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Elesa a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Elesa in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.