Head to head · Girls' names
Elisa vs Kataleya
#458 vs #458 in 2025
Elisa and Kataleya share the same spot on the 2025 charts (#458). The records cannot split them; sound and story 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
On the charts, Elisa leads 3 measures of 6; Kataleya leads 1.
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, Kataleya — — Elisa higher
- 1890s: Elisa #878, Kataleya — — Elisa higher
- 1900s: Elisa #802, Kataleya — — Elisa higher
- 1910s: Elisa #799, Kataleya — — Elisa higher
- 1920s: Elisa #686, Kataleya — — Elisa higher
- 1930s: Elisa #658, Kataleya — — Elisa higher
- 1940s: Elisa #776, Kataleya — — Elisa higher
- 1950s: Elisa #581, Kataleya — — Elisa higher
- 1960s: Elisa #377, Kataleya — — Elisa higher
- 1970s: Elisa #368, Kataleya — — Elisa higher
- 1980s: Elisa #355, Kataleya — — Elisa higher
- 1990s: Elisa #456, Kataleya — — Elisa higher
- 2000s: Elisa #541, Kataleya — — Elisa higher
- 2010s: Elisa #476, Kataleya #2112 — Elisa higher
- 2020s: Elisa #442, Kataleya #645 — Elisa higher
Elisa stood higher in every recorded decade — 15 of 15.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Elisa | Kataleya |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #707 | — |
| 1890s | #878 | — |
| 1900s | #802 | — |
| 1910s | #799 | — |
| 1920s | #686 | — |
| 1930s | #658 | — |
| 1940s | #776 | — |
| 1950s | #581 | — |
| 1960s | #377 | — |
| 1970s | #368 | — |
| 1980s | #355 | — |
| 1990s | #456 | — |
| 2000s | #541 | — |
| 2010s | #476 | #2112 |
| 2020s | #442 | #645 |
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.
Kataleya
From the Cattleya orchid
Two readings sit side by side. The first traces the name to the Cattleya orchid, named by the botanist John Lindley for William Cattley, who cultivated the plants in England in the early nineteenth century — which makes the meaning ornamental rather than linguistic. The second reads Kataleya as an elaboration of Catalina/Katalina, the Spanish and Hungarian forms of Catherine, whose own ancient meaning is itself unsettled. Many families who use the name have both in mind at once.
Cattleya → Cataleya → Kataleya
How it traveled
The orchid came first. Cattleya labiata was described in England in the 1820s and named for its grower, and the genus went on to become one of the most cultivated flowers in the world and the national flower of Colombia, where it grows wild.
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.
Kataleya
kah-tah-LAY-ah
Stress lands on the third syllable. English speakers often say kat-uh-LAY-uh with a flatter first vowel; Spanish speakers keep the open ah throughout. Both are in ordinary use, and the -leya ending is occasionally read as LEE-ah, which is worth deciding on early.
- Kat — The most portable short form, and a standalone given name in its own right.
- Katie — Long-established as an independent name; carries the full name into very familiar English usage.
- Leya — Takes the back half instead of the front; used on its own as a given name too.
- Kata — Common in Spanish-speaking households, where it also serves Catalina.
- Also Lele.
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 holding steadyElisa is holding its place on the charts
- a name with fewer syllablesElisa is 3 syllables to Kataleya's 4
- a long American recordElisa was already in use when US records began in 1880
Choose Kataleya if you want…
- a name on the way upup 314 places on the charts in five years
- a name with more sound in itKataleya runs 4 syllables, Elisa 3
- a newer arrivalKataleya entered the US charts in 2011
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.
Kataleya
Strengths
- Built entirely from sounds English and Spanish already share, so it survives the crossing between the two languages without being re-pronounced.
- Comes with ready-made short forms — Kat, Katie, Leya — that already exist as names on their own.
- A flower name with a real botanical referent, which gives it a plain answer to the question of what it means.
To consider
- The spelling will need repeating. C or K, one t or two, -eya or -eia — all of these are in circulation, and the form you choose will be guessed wrong a fair amount of the time.
- Its wave in the United States is very recent, so nearly everyone carrying it is a child. There is no generation of grown Kataleyas yet to make the name feel ordinary to adults.
- The best-known Cataleya in popular culture is the assassin at the center of the 2011 film Colombiana. Some people will make the connection; most, especially as years pass, will simply hear the flower.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Elisa
40%chance Elisa feels dated by 2040
Elisa sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
Kataleya
55%chance Kataleya feels dated by 2040
Kataleya is climbing fast right now. Steep climbs tend to come with steep descents — the quicker a name arrives, the more firmly it belongs to its moment.
A reading of where each name sits on the long naming cycle — computed, not measured, and explained on the data page.
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 Kataleya 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 Kataleya?
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 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
- Names that didn't exist a generation ago
- Four-syllable names that carry
- Eight-letter names with presence
- all guides
Where Elisa and Kataleya each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Elisa or Kataleya — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Elisa or Kataleya?
- They tie in 2025: Elisa ranked #458 with 674 babies; Kataleya ranked #458 with 674 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Elisa or Kataleya?
- Kataleya. Over the last five years Elisa moved up 53 places; Kataleya moved up 314 places.
- Which is the older name, Elisa or Kataleya?
- Elisa was already in use when US records began in 1880; Kataleya entered the US charts in 2011. On the American record, Elisa is the older name.
- How many people are named Elisa and Kataleya?
- About 42,500 people named Elisa are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 4,800 people named Kataleya are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Elisas or Kataleyas in the classroom?
- Elisa will almost certainly be the only one in school. Kataleya 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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