Head to head · Girls' names
Elisa vs Elle
#458 vs #461 in 2025
Elisa is a whisker ahead (#458 vs #461 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Elisa is holding its place on the charts, Elle is stepping back from its peak.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
On the charts, Elisa leads 6 measures of 6; Elle leads 0.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: Elisa #707, Elle — — Elisa higher
- 1890s: Elisa #878, Elle — — Elisa higher
- 1900s: Elisa #802, Elle — — Elisa higher
- 1910s: Elisa #799, Elle — — Elisa higher
- 1920s: Elisa #686, Elle — — Elisa higher
- 1930s: Elisa #658, Elle — — Elisa higher
- 1940s: Elisa #776, Elle — — Elisa higher
- 1950s: Elisa #581, Elle — — Elisa higher
- 1960s: Elisa #377, Elle — — Elisa higher
- 1970s: Elisa #368, Elle #8300 — Elisa higher
- 1980s: Elisa #355, Elle #5853 — Elisa higher
- 1990s: Elisa #456, Elle #1373 — Elisa higher
- 2000s: Elisa #541, Elle #626 — Elisa higher
- 2010s: Elisa #476, Elle #393 — Elle higher
- 2020s: Elisa #442, Elle #417 — Elle higher
Elisa stood higher in 13 of 15 decades; Elle has held the lead since the 2010s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Elisa | Elle |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #707 | — |
| 1890s | #878 | — |
| 1900s | #802 | — |
| 1910s | #799 | — |
| 1920s | #686 | — |
| 1930s | #658 | — |
| 1940s | #776 | — |
| 1950s | #581 | — |
| 1960s | #377 | — |
| 1970s | #368 | #8300 |
| 1980s | #355 | #5853 |
| 1990s | #456 | #1373 |
| 2000s | #541 | #626 |
| 2010s | #476 | #393 |
| 2020s | #442 | #417 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Elisa
My God is an oath — that is, a promise sworn by God
Elisa is a shortened form of Elizabeth, from Hebrew Elisheva. The first element is God; the second, shevaʿ, is read as "oath" in the standard rendering, though "abundance" is sometimes offered for the same root.
Elisheva → Elisabet → Elisabeth → Elisabetta → Elisa
How it traveled
The name behind Elisa is Elisheva, borne in the Hebrew Bible by the wife of Aaron. Greek translators of the Hebrew scriptures rendered it Elisabet, and from there Latin Elisabeth spread across Christian Europe, growing a different short form in nearly every language it touched — Isabel in Spain, Elise in France, Elsa in the north, Elisa in Italy, Spain, Portugal and Germany.
Elle
"She" in French; also a short form of Ell- and -elle names
Two readings compete, and both are real. Read as French, elle is simply the pronoun "she". Read as a short form, the meaning belongs to the longer name behind it: Eleanor, Ellen (through Greek Helenē), Elizabeth (Hebrew, "my God is an oath"), or one of the -elle names like Gabrielle and Michelle, where -elle is the French feminine diminutive ending.
Helenē → Helen → Ellen → Elle
How it traveled
The sound comes into English along two roads that meet at the same three letters. One runs through the Ell- names — Ellen, from Greek Helenē by way of medieval French and English, and Eleanor and Elizabeth alongside it — all of which have been clipped to Ell and Elle in family use for centuries.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Elisa
eh-LEE-sah
English speakers often soften it to ih-LEE-suh. In Italian and much of German usage the s is voiced, closer to eh-LEE-zah. All are accepted; a family usually just picks one and repeats it.
- Lisa — The most familiar short form in English, and long established as a given name in its own right, so it reads as a full name to many people.
- Eli — Informal; in the United States it also stands alone as a boy's name, which can cause a double take in writing.
- Ellie — Informal, widely used across the whole Eli-/Ella- family and independently popular as a given name.
- Isa — Common in Spanish- and Italian-speaking households, used affectionately at home more than on paper.
- Also Lise.
Elle
EL
One syllable, rhyming with bell. Identical in sound to the letter L and to French elle. Some readers guess EL-ee on first sight, expecting Ellie, and correct themselves once they hear it.
- Ellie — The usual affectionate stretch of a name already short; stands alone as a given name too.
- El — Informal, mostly within a family or among close friends.
- Ella — Used interchangeably by some families; also a fully established given name in its own right.
One short form, two names
- Elisa and Elle both shorten to Ellie.
Short forms as recorded on each name’s own page. This is here so it is a decision rather than a discovery.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Elisa if you want…
- a name on the way upup 53 places on the charts in five years
- a name with more sound in itElisa runs 3 syllables, Elle 1
- plenty of nickname options5 recorded short forms — Lisa, Eli and Ellie
- a long American recordElisa was already in use when US records began in 1880
Choose Elle if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsElle is stepping back from its peak
- a name with fewer syllablesElle is 1 syllable to Elisa's 3
- a newer arrivalElle entered the US charts in 1977
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Elisa
Strengths
- Spelled the same in Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and German, so it crosses borders without needing to be adapted or re-spelled.
- Comes with ready-made short forms — Lisa, Ellie, Eli, Isa — none of which had to be invented.
- Traces an unbroken line back through Elisabeth to the Hebrew Elisheva, one of the oldest continuously used names in Europe.
To consider
- It lives in a crowded street: Elise, Eliza, Elissa, Alisa and Alyssa all sound close, and people will guess wrong. Expect to spell it over the phone fairly often.
- The stressed vowel shifts by language — eh-LEE-sah, ih-LEE-suh, eh-LEE-zah — so the same child may hear her name three ways in a bilingual family or on a trip abroad.
- Lisa, the most natural short form, is strongly represented among older generations, and some families would rather steer toward Ellie or Isa instead.
Elle
Strengths
- One syllable, four letters, no silent traps — most people spell it right the first time they hear it said.
- Works as the everyday short form of Eleanor, Ellen, Elizabeth, Gabrielle, Danielle or Michelle, if you ever want a longer name on the certificate.
- Recognizable in French and English alike, and readable at sight across most European languages.
To consider
- It is a homophone of the letter L, which invites the occasional "Elle with an E?" and stray spellings like El, Ell or plain L over the phone.
- Because the sound has served as a nickname for so long, some people will assume Elle is short for something and ask what the full name is.
- At one syllable it can get lost beside a very short surname, and it disappears easily when called across a noisy playground. Read the whole name aloud a few times before deciding.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Elisa and Elle in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Elisa and Elle?
Put both to the vote.
One link to your partner, your parents, your sister. Each of them gets the two names, a one-tap answer and room to say why — and every reply lands in one place.
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More than two in the running? Settle it with a bracket or run the full comparison with your last name.
More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists these names appear on
- Quiet perennials: a century old, never popular
- Palindrome names: the same in the mirror
- One-syllable names: said in a single beat
- Soft-sounding names built on liquid letters
- all guides
Where Elisa and Elle each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Elisa or Elle — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Elisa or Elle?
- Elisa, in 2025: Elisa ranked #458 with 674 babies; Elle ranked #461 with 668 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Elisa or Elle?
- Elisa. Over the last five years Elisa moved up 53 places; Elle moved down 91 places.
- Which is the older name, Elisa or Elle?
- Elisa was already in use when US records began in 1880; Elle entered the US charts in 1977. On the American record, Elisa is the older name.
- How many people are named Elisa and Elle?
- About 42,500 people named Elisa are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 19,000 people named Elle are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Do Elisa and Elle share a nickname?
- Yes — both shorten to Ellie, so in a house with both names the short form would not say which child is meant.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
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