Ilsa
A feminine name derived from Elizabeth, meaning "consecrated to God".
Name Census estimates that about 830 living Americans carry the first name Ilsa. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Ilsa today is around 30 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ilsa births was 2011 (34 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ilsa. 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
830
~ 1 in 412,957 Americans
Peak year
2011
34 babies that year
Average age
30
years old
2024 SSA rank
#9,800
Tracked since 1943
Popularity
Ilsa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ilsa from the 1940s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 205 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Ilsa remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ilsa 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 Ilsa during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ilsas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Ilsa
The name Ilsa has its origins in the Germanic languages, specifically in the Old Norse and Old German tongues. It is derived from the roots "il" meaning "battle" or "fight" and "sa" meaning "victory" or "triumph." This combination suggests the name's meaning to be something along the lines of "battle victory" or "triumphant warrior."
The name Ilsa can be traced back to the medieval period, where it was a popular name among the Germanic tribes and peoples of Northern Europe. It was often given to children with the hope that they would grow to be strong and victorious individuals.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Ilsa can be found in the Old Norse sagas and legends, where it was borne by several valiant female characters. In the Icelandic Saga of Grettir the Strong, there is a character named Ilsa, who was known for her courage and resilience.
Throughout history, the name Ilsa has been carried by several notable figures. In the 11th century, Ilsa of Merseburg was a German noblewoman and abbess who played a significant role in the religious and political affairs of her time. Another prominent bearer of the name was Ilsa von Toggenburg, a 13th-century Swiss noblewoman who was known for her bravery and leadership during the battles against the Habsburgs.
In the realm of literature, the name Ilsa gained notoriety through the character of Ilsa Lund in the novel "Casablanca" by Murray Burnett and Joan Alison, which later inspired the iconic 1942 film of the same name starring Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart.
Other notable bearers of the name Ilsa include Ilsa Konrads (1913-1983), a Latvian-American artist and sculptor; Ilsa Barzetti (1907-1968), an Italian actress and dancer; and Ilsa Baronin von Aufseß (1888-1970), a German writer and feminist activist.
While the name Ilsa has its roots in the Germanic languages and cultures, it has since spread to various parts of the world and has been adapted and embraced by different communities, each adding their own unique cultural and linguistic nuances to its meaning and significance.
People
Ilsa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ilsa as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with I
Other first names starting with I with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Ilsa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ilsa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 830 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ilsa 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 412,957 US residents.
Is Ilsa a common name?
We classify Ilsa as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 895 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ilsa most popular?
The single biggest year for Ilsa was 2011, when 34 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ilsa is about 30 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Ilsa a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ilsa 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.