Ilyse
A feminine variation of the French and English name Elise, meaning consecrated or vowed to God.
Name Census estimates that about 339 living Americans carry the first name Ilyse. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Ilyse today is around 46 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ilyse births was 1969 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ilyse. 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
339
~ 1 in 1,011,075 Americans
Peak year
1969
17 babies that year
Average age
46
years old
2024 SSA rank
#12,625
Tracked since 1952
Popularity
Ilyse: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ilyse from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 112 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
Ilyse 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 Ilyse during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ilyses live
Origin
Meaning and history of Ilyse
The name Ilyse is a feminine given name derived from the Hebrew name Elisheva, which means "God is my oath" or "God's promise." This name has its origins in ancient Jewish culture, dating back to biblical times.
Ilyse is a variant spelling of the name Elise, which is a French form of the name Elizabeth. The name Elizabeth itself is derived from the Hebrew name Elisheva, which was borne by the wife of Aaron, the brother of Moses, in the Old Testament.
While the name Ilyse does not appear explicitly in ancient religious texts or historical records, its roots can be traced back to the biblical figure Elisheva, who is mentioned in the Book of Exodus.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Ilyse can be found in the late 19th century, when it was used by French author and playwright Ilyse Dufresne, born in 1873. Another notable figure with this name was Ilyse Sierra, an American actress and model born in 1970.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Ilyse or its variants. These include Ilyse Hogue (born 1970), an American activist and former president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, and Ilyse Kurin (born 1952), an American lawyer and judge who served as the 46th Attorney General of Hawaii.
Another prominent figure with this name was Ilyse Betty Kukil (1939-2001), a Canadian literary executor and researcher who was instrumental in bringing the works of author Sylvia Plath to public attention.
Ilyse Renee Togue (born 1975) is an American television host and actress, best known for her work on the Travel Channel's "Bizzare Foods with Andrew Zimmern."
While the name Ilyse may have origins in ancient Hebrew culture, it has gained popularity in various parts of the world, particularly in Western countries, over the past century.
People
Ilyse + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ilyse 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
Ilyse: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ilyse?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 339 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ilyse 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 1,011,075 US residents.
Is Ilyse a common name?
We classify Ilyse as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 385 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ilyse most popular?
The single biggest year for Ilyse was 1969, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ilyse is about 46 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Ilyse a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ilyse 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.