Iselda
Of Teutonic origin meaning "battle maiden" or "iron ruler".
Name Census estimates that about 15 living Americans carry the first name Iselda. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Iselda today is around 38 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Iselda births was 1987 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Iselda. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Iselda. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
15
~ 1 in 22,850,289 Americans
Peak year
1987
6 babies that year
Average age
38
years old
2001 SSA rank
#16,297
Tracked since 1975
Census
Iselda in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 203 people with the first name Iselda, which placed it at #38,074 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
#38,074
National first-name rank
People counted
203
203 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
95.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Iselda
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Iselda is Hispanic at 95.1%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (2.5%) and White (1.0%). 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 Iselda 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 Iselda at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino95.1% · 193
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.5% · 5
- White1.0% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 2
- Black or African American0.5% · 1
Popularity
Iselda: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Iselda from the 1970s through to the 2000s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 6 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Iselda 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 Iselda 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 Iselda
The name Iselda is a feminine given name with roots that can be traced back to the Germanic languages. It is believed to have originated from the Old High German words "is" meaning "ice" and "hilta" meaning "battle" or "fight." Together, these elements combine to form a name that conveys the sense of a strong, unyielding, and formidable individual.
During the Middle Ages, the name Iselda gained prominence in various regions of Europe, particularly in areas where Germanic influence was strong. It was not uncommon for the name to be spelled differently, with variations such as Isilda, Iselde, or Isolde appearing in historical records.
One of the earliest and most notable mentions of the name Iselda can be found in the medieval romance Tristan and Isolde, a tragic love story that has been retold and adapted numerous times throughout the centuries. In this narrative, Isolde was a beautiful Irish princess who fell in love with the Cornish knight Tristan, leading to a tumultuous and ultimately tragic relationship.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Iselda. One such figure was Iselda of Friesland (c. 1030-1090), a Dutch noblewoman who played a significant role in the political landscape of the region during the 11th century. Another notable bearer of the name was Iselda of Lambessa (c. 1210-1270), a Carthusian nun and mystic who is venerated as a saint in parts of North Africa.
In the realm of literature, the name Iselda has been immortalized by various writers. One example is Iselda, a character in the novel "The Green Knight" by Iris Murdoch, published in 1993. Additionally, the name appears in the works of the English poet laureate Alfred Tennyson, who wrote a poem titled "Iselda" in 1832.
Other notable figures throughout history who bore the name Iselda include Iselda of Navarre (c. 1140-1200), a Spanish princess and patron of the arts, and Iselda of Burgundy (c. 1090-1145), a French noblewoman who played a role in the Crusades.
While the name Iselda may not be as common in modern times, its rich historical roots and associations with strength, resilience, and romantic tragedy have contributed to its enduring appeal and significance in various cultural contexts.
People
Iselda + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Iselda 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
Iselda: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Iselda?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 15 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Iselda 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 22,850,289 US residents.
Is Iselda a common name?
We classify Iselda as "Very Rare". It ranks above 35.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 16 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Iselda most popular?
The single biggest year for Iselda was 1987, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Iselda is about 38 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Iselda in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 203 people with the name Iselda, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #38,074 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 Iselda 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 Iselda?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Iselda leans strongly female. 199 people counted with this name were female (98.5%), compared with 3 male bearers (1.5%). 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 Iselda?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Iselda is Hispanic at 95.1%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (2.5%) and White (1.0%). 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 Iselda most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Iselda in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.1% (193 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 Iselda in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Iselda a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Iselda 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 Iselda still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Iselda 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 Iselda 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 common is the name Iselda?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.