Elissa
A feminine name of Hebrew origin meaning "God is perfection".
Name Census estimates that about 15,970 living Americans carry the first name Elissa. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Elissa today is around 36 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Elissa births was 1979 (408 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Elissa. 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
16K
~ 1 in 21,462 Americans
Peak year
1979
408 babies that year
Average age
36
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,526
Tracked since 1914
Popularity
Elissa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Elissa from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 3,277 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Elissa 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 Elissa during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Elissas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 43 states and territories. New York, California, Texas recorded the most babies named Elissa, while West Virginia, South Dakota, Rhode Island recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 315 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Elissa
The name Elissa has its origins in the ancient Phoenician civilization, which flourished in the coastal regions of modern-day Lebanon, Syria, and parts of Israel between 1500 BC and 300 BC. It is derived from the Phoenician word 'elissa,' meaning 'goddess' or 'divine being.'
According to Greek mythology, Elissa was the name given to the Phoenician princess Dido, the legendary founder and first queen of Carthage. The story of Dido and her tragic love affair with Aeneas, the Trojan hero, is recounted in Virgil's epic poem, the Aeneid, written between 29 and 19 BC.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Elissa can be found in the writings of the ancient Greek historian Timaeus of Tauromenium, who lived in the 4th century BC. He wrote about the founding of Carthage by Elissa, known as Dido to the Greeks.
Throughout history, several notable women have borne the name Elissa. One of the most famous was Elissa ben Abuyah, a renowned Jewish scholar who lived in the 2nd century AD and was known for her wisdom and knowledge of the Torah.
In the 12th century, Elissa of Courtenay was a French noblewoman and the second wife of William VIII, Duke of Aquitaine. She played a significant role in the politics of the region during her lifetime.
During the Renaissance period, Elissa Ferrero was an Italian painter who lived from 1490 to 1555. She was one of the few female artists of her time to achieve recognition for her work, which included religious paintings and portraits.
In the 19th century, ElissaRhais was a French writer and feminist activist who fought for women's rights and education. She published several novels and essays, advocating for gender equality and social reform.
Another notable figure was Elissa Aalto, a Finnish architect and designer who lived from 1922 to 1994. She worked alongside her husband, Alvar Aalto, and contributed significantly to the design of many iconic buildings and furniture pieces.
People
Elissa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Elissa 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
Elissa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Elissa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 15,970 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Elissa 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 21,462 US residents.
Is Elissa a common name?
We classify Elissa as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 17,924 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Elissa most popular?
The single biggest year for Elissa was 1979, when 408 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Elissa is about 36 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Elissa a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Elissa 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.