Head to head · Girls' names
Elisa vs Emmy
#458 vs #445 in 2025 · both holding its place on the charts
Emmy is a whisker ahead (#445 vs #458 in 2025) and both are holding its place on the charts. The records will not split these two — sound, story and your own last name will.
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
The tape is even: Elisa and Emmy each lead 3 measures of 6.
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, Emmy #970 — Elisa higher
- 1890s: Elisa #878, Emmy #1285 — Elisa higher
- 1900s: Elisa #802, Emmy #1519 — Elisa higher
- 1910s: Elisa #799, Emmy #1817 — Elisa higher
- 1920s: Elisa #686, Emmy #1470 — Elisa higher
- 1930s: Elisa #658, Emmy #1823 — Elisa higher
- 1940s: Elisa #776, Emmy #2065 — Elisa higher
- 1950s: Elisa #581, Emmy #2326 — Elisa higher
- 1960s: Elisa #377, Emmy #3322 — Elisa higher
- 1970s: Elisa #368, Emmy #2369 — Elisa higher
- 1980s: Elisa #355, Emmy #2186 — Elisa higher
- 1990s: Elisa #456, Emmy #2439 — Elisa higher
- 2000s: Elisa #541, Emmy #1340 — Elisa higher
- 2010s: Elisa #476, Emmy #663 — Elisa higher
- 2020s: Elisa #442, Emmy #494 — Elisa higher
Elisa stood higher in every recorded decade — 15 of 15.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Elisa | Emmy |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #707 | #970 |
| 1890s | #878 | #1285 |
| 1900s | #802 | #1519 |
| 1910s | #799 | #1817 |
| 1920s | #686 | #1470 |
| 1930s | #658 | #1823 |
| 1940s | #776 | #2065 |
| 1950s | #581 | #2326 |
| 1960s | #377 | #3322 |
| 1970s | #368 | #2369 |
| 1980s | #355 | #2186 |
| 1990s | #456 | #2439 |
| 2000s | #541 | #1340 |
| 2010s | #476 | #663 |
| 2020s | #442 | #494 |
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.
Emmy
A short form of Emma or Emily, so the meaning depends on which one it comes from
Through Emma it reaches the Germanic element ermen or irmin, meaning whole or universal — the same piece found in old names like Ermengarde. Through Emily it reaches the Roman family name Aemilius, whose own root is unsettled; it is often linked to Latin aemulus, rival or one who strives to match. Both roads are entirely respectable, and Emmy has been used for both for centuries.
ermen / irmin (Germanic element) → Ermengarde → Emma → Emmy
How it traveled
Emmy began as a spoken shortening rather than a written name. Emma arrived in England with the Normans in the eleventh century and never really left; Emily came separately from the Roman name Aemilia and rose in English use from the eighteenth century onward.
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.
Emmy
EM-ee
Stress on the first syllable. The same in German, Dutch and Swedish, so it survives a border crossing intact. Spelling is the only wobble: Emmi, Emmie and Emme all sound identical.
- Em — The standard further shortening, used the same way for Emma, Emily and Emmeline; informal, family and friends.
- Ems — Casual, more common among schoolmates and siblings than adults.
- Emmers — Playful household form; rarely used outside the family.
- Emmy Lou — A compound used in the American South, sometimes as a double given name rather than a nickname.
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 fewer children share#458 in 2025 — elisa will almost certainly be the only one in school
- a name holding steadyElisa is holding its place on the charts
- a name with more sound in itElisa runs 3 syllables, Emmy 2
- a long American recordElisa was already in use when US records began in 1880
Choose Emmy if you want…
- a name most people already know#445 in 2025, 695 babies that year
- a name on the way upup 72 places on the charts in five years
- a name with fewer syllablesEmmy is 2 syllables to Elisa's 3
- a newer arrivalEmmy entered the US charts in 1885
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.
Emmy
Strengths
- Already the affectionate form, so there is no gap between the formal name and the one used at home — nothing has to be shortened or explained.
- Instantly readable and sayable on first hearing anywhere in the English-speaking world, and pronounced the same in German, Dutch and Scandinavian use.
- Works as the everyday name for Emmeline, Emma or Emily if you want a longer version on the birth certificate and Emmy in daily life.
To consider
- The Emmy Awards will come up. The trophy took its name from immy, the nickname for the image orthicon tube used in early television cameras, so the link is to broadcasting equipment rather than to the given name — but expect the joke anyway.
- It reads as a diminutive to some ears, which can matter in formal or professional contexts later. Parents who want a fallback often register Emmeline, Emma or Emily and use Emmy from the start.
- Emma and Emily are both heavily represented in the same age group, so an Emmy may be turning around a lot in a room without anyone actually calling her.
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 Emmy 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 Emmy?
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
Where Elisa and Emmy each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Elisa or Emmy — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Elisa or Emmy?
- Emmy, in 2025: Emmy ranked #445 with 695 babies; Elisa ranked #458 with 674 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Elisa or Emmy?
- Emmy. Over the last five years Elisa moved up 53 places; Emmy moved up 72 places.
- Which is the older name, Elisa or Emmy?
- Elisa was already in use when US records began in 1880; Emmy entered the US charts in 1885. On the American record, Elisa is the older name.
- How many people are named Elisa and Emmy?
- About 42,500 people named Elisa are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 12,000 people named Emmy are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Elisas or Emmys in the classroom?
- Elisa will almost certainly be the only one in school. Emmy will almost certainly be the only one in school.
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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