Jelisa
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly derived from French or Italian.
Name Census estimates that about 1,059 living Americans carry the first name Jelisa. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Jelisa today is around 32 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jelisa births was 1989 (145 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jelisa. 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
1.1K
~ 1 in 323,658 Americans
Peak year
1989
145 babies that year
Average age
32
years old
2024 SSA rank
#16,269
Tracked since 1980
Popularity
Jelisa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jelisa from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 602 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jelisa 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 Jelisa during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jelisas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 18 states and territories. Illinois, New York, Texas recorded the most babies named Jelisa, while Ohio, Connecticut, Arkansas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 28 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Jelisa
The name Jelisa has its roots in the ancient Slavic language, with origins dating back to the 7th century CE. It is believed to be derived from the Proto-Slavic word "jeliza," which means "alder tree" or "evergreen." This name was commonly used among the Slavic tribes that inhabited the regions of present-day Eastern Europe and the Balkans.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Jelisa can be found in the Novgorod Codex, a 13th-century Slavic manuscript that contains a collection of legal texts and chronicles. In this document, Jelisa is mentioned as the name of a woman who was involved in a land dispute in the region of Novgorod.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Jelisa. One of the most famous was Jelisa of Kesan, a 14th-century Serbian noblewoman and landowner who played a significant role in the political affairs of the Kingdom of Serbia during the reign of King Stefan Dušan.
Another prominent figure was Jelisa Barzokovic, a 16th-century Montenegrin warrior and military leader who fought against the Ottoman Empire during the Montenegrin-Ottoman Wars. She was renowned for her bravery and tactical skills in battle.
In the realm of literature, Jelisa Obrenovic was a 19th-century Serbian writer and poet who contributed to the development of Serbian Romanticism. Her works often explored themes of love, nature, and national identity.
The name Jelisa also has religious connections, as evidenced by the existence of Saint Jelisa, a 9th-century Byzantine nun and martyr who was canonized by the Eastern Orthodox Church for her unwavering faith and dedication to her beliefs.
Lastly, Jelisa Popovic, a 20th-century Serbian artist and painter, gained recognition for her vibrant and expressive works that captured the essence of her homeland's landscapes and cultural traditions.
While the name Jelisa may have fallen out of widespread use in modern times, its rich historical and cultural significance across various Slavic regions serves as a testament to its enduring legacy.
People
Jelisa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jelisa as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with J
Other first names starting with J with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Jelisa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jelisa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,059 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jelisa 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 323,658 US residents.
Is Jelisa a common name?
We classify Jelisa as "Rare". It ranks above 90.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,098 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jelisa most popular?
The single biggest year for Jelisa was 1989, when 145 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jelisa is about 32 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Jelisa a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jelisa 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.