Ellissa
A feminine name of Hebrew origin meaning "pledged to God".
Name Census estimates that about 470 living Americans carry the first name Ellissa. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Ellissa today is around 29 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ellissa births was 2000 (30 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ellissa. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Ellissa with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
470
~ 1 in 729,265 Americans
Peak year
2000
30 babies that year
Average age
29
years old
2018 SSA rank
#16,380
Tracked since 1967
Census
Ellissa in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 479 people with the first name Ellissa, which placed it at #21,270 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#21,270
National first-name rank
People counted
479
479 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
67.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ellissa
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ellissa is White at 67.4%. The next largest groups are Black (17.1%) and Hispanic (8.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Ellissa described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Ellissa at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White67.4% · 323
- Black or African American17.1% · 82
- Hispanic or Latino8.8% · 42
- Two or more races4.4% · 21
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.5% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 4
Popularity
Ellissa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ellissa from the 1960s through to the 2010s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 179 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Ellissa remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ellissa 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 Ellissa during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ellissas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Ellissa
Ellissa is a feminine given name with origins tracing back to ancient Greek and Phoenician cultures. The name is believed to be derived from the Greek word "helios," meaning "sun," and the Phoenician word "elissa," meaning "dedicated to the sun."
In ancient Greek mythology, Helios was the personification of the sun, and the name Ellissa may have been given to girls as a tribute to this powerful and revered deity. The Phoenicians, who were renowned for their maritime prowess and trade networks, also held the sun in high regard and may have used the name Elissa to honor their sun god.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Ellissa can be found in the writings of the ancient Greek historian Timaeus, who mentions a Carthaginian princess named Elissa, also known as Dido. According to legend, Elissa fled her homeland of Tyre (now in modern-day Lebanon) and founded the city of Carthage in North Africa around 814 BCE.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Ellissa. In the 5th century BCE, Ellissa was the name of a Greek priestess and philosopher from the city of Syracuse in Sicily. During the Byzantine era, Ellissa was the name of a Christian martyr who was executed for her faith in the 4th century CE.
In more recent times, Ellissa was the name of Ellissa Lovekin (1605-1697), an English Quaker and author who wrote several religious tracts and pamphlets. Another notable Ellissa was Ellissa Raymer (1853-1933), an American educator and activist who fought for women's suffrage and equal rights.
Ellissa Chudwin (1916-2004) was a Polish-American journalist and author who wrote extensively about her experiences during the Holocaust. Her memoir, "The Girl from Lublin," published in 1985, recounts her harrowing journey as a teenager trying to survive the Nazi occupation of Poland.
While the name Ellissa has roots in ancient cultures and has been borne by individuals throughout history, it remains a relatively uncommon name in modern times. However, its rich historical significance and connection to the sun continue to make it a unique and meaningful choice for parents seeking a name with a strong heritage.
People
Ellissa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ellissa 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
Ellissa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ellissa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 470 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ellissa 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 729,265 US residents.
Is Ellissa a common name?
We classify Ellissa as "Very Rare". It ranks above 84% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 486 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ellissa most popular?
The single biggest year for Ellissa was 2000, when 30 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ellissa is about 29 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Ellissa in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 479 people with the name Ellissa, or 0.16 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #21,270 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Ellissa in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Ellissa?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ellissa appears almost entirely female. Of the 486 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Ellissa?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ellissa is White at 67.4%. The next largest groups are Black (17.1%) and Hispanic (8.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Ellissa most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Ellissa in the 2020 Census, accounting for 67.4% (323 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Ellissa in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ellissa a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ellissa 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.
Is Ellissa still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ellissa in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Ellissa can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
How many people are called Ellissa?
Find out how many people share the name Ellissa on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.