Head to head · Girls' names
Elise vs Jane
#223 vs #221 in 2025
Jane is a whisker ahead (#221 vs #223 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Jane is back after a long quiet spell, Elise is holding its place on the charts.
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, Jane leads 5 measures of 6; Elise 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: Elise #370, Jane #100 — Jane higher
- 1890s: Elise #410, Jane #118 — Jane higher
- 1900s: Elise #436, Jane #137 — Jane higher
- 1910s: Elise #445, Jane #75 — Jane higher
- 1920s: Elise #523, Jane #55 — Jane higher
- 1930s: Elise #604, Jane #47 — Jane higher
- 1940s: Elise #662, Jane #41 — Jane higher
- 1950s: Elise #484, Jane #50 — Jane higher
- 1960s: Elise #502, Jane #103 — Jane higher
- 1970s: Elise #612, Jane #281 — Jane higher
- 1980s: Elise #350, Jane #325 — Jane higher
- 1990s: Elise #295, Jane #392 — Elise higher
- 2000s: Elise #228, Jane #431 — Elise higher
- 2010s: Elise #174, Jane #319 — Elise higher
- 2020s: Elise #244, Jane #265 — Elise higher
Jane stood higher in 11 of 15 decades; Elise has held the lead since the 1990s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Elise | Jane |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #370 | #100 |
| 1890s | #410 | #118 |
| 1900s | #436 | #137 |
| 1910s | #445 | #75 |
| 1920s | #523 | #55 |
| 1930s | #604 | #47 |
| 1940s | #662 | #41 |
| 1950s | #484 | #50 |
| 1960s | #502 | #103 |
| 1970s | #612 | #281 |
| 1980s | #350 | #325 |
| 1990s | #295 | #392 |
| 2000s | #228 | #431 |
| 2010s | #174 | #319 |
| 2020s | #244 | #265 |
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
Elise
my God is an oath
The meaning belongs to the parent name: Hebrew Elisheva, from El (God) and a root tied to oath-swearing. Elise inherits it whole.
Elisheva → Elisabet → Elisabeth → Élise → Elise
How it traveled
The line starts with Hebrew Elisheva, the wife of Aaron in the Book of Exodus. Greek translators of the Hebrew Bible rendered it Elisabet, Latin made it Elisabeth, and from there it spread across Christian Europe, where speakers did what speakers always do to long names: they cut them.
Jane
God is gracious
The English feminine of John, arriving through the French Jehanne. The Hebrew behind it is a short sentence about God showing favor. The name has been in continuous English use since the Middle Ages and has been through at least three periods of being extremely common and one long quiet spell.
Iohanna → Jehanne → Jane
How it traveled
The most famous Jane published anonymously and her name only appeared after she died. Jane Austen's novels came out as by a lady, and then as by the author of the previous one, which was the ordinary arrangement for a woman writing fiction; her brother put her name on the last two after her death, along with a notice explaining who she had been.
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
Elise
eh-LEES
Two pronunciations are both in genuine use: eh-LEES with a soft s, and eh-LEEZ closer to the French Élise. Neither is wrong, but it helps to pick one and say it the same way at every introduction, since strangers will guess.
- Ellie — The most common informal short form in English, and widely given as a full name on its own.
- Elle — Informal and brief; also used independently as a given name.
- Lise — The other half of the name; stands alone as a given name in French and in Scandinavian countries.
- Lisi — A German-style diminutive, informal and mostly used within families.
Jane
JAYN
One syllable. The silent e lengthens the vowel before it, which is the classic English use of a final e and one of the few places in the language where it is completely regular.
- Janey — The name softened; warm and slightly old-fashioned.
- Jenny — The traditional English pet form of this name, not of Jennifer, which is unrelated.
- Jay — Built from the initial; unisex, brisk and completely modern.
Who has carried each name
Elise
No documented entry for Elise yet.
Jane
Jane Austen (b. 1775) — Wrote Pride and Prejudice
Jane Goodall (b. 1934) — Revolutionized our understanding of chimpanzees
Jane Fonda (b. 1937) — Two-time Oscar winner and lifelong activist
Source: Wikidata — the one source on this page that is not an official agency.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Elise if you want…
- a name holding steadyElise is holding its place on the charts
- a name with more sound in itElise runs 2 syllables, Jane 1
- a name that feels very nowElise is holding its place on the charts
Choose Jane if you want…
- a name on the way upup 42 places on the charts in five years
- a name with fewer syllablesJane is 1 syllable to Elise's 2
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 12% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 40% for Elise
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
Elise
Strengths
- Short, two syllables, and spelled the way most people will write it on a first try once they have heard it.
- Recognizable across French, German, Dutch and the Scandinavian languages without changing form.
- Documented in American records since the beginning of those records, with no long gap in use.
To consider
- The s-or-z question is real and permanent: some people will say eh-LEES, others eh-LEEZ. Expect to correct it gently, forever, and to hear both from teachers in the same week.
- Elyse, Elise, Elisa and Eliza all sound near enough to be muddled. Forms and rosters will occasionally arrive with the wrong one of the four.
- "Für Elise" is one of the most recognized pieces of piano music there is, so the name may draw an occasional hum or joke — mild, affectionate, and easy to live with.
Jane
Strengths
- One syllable, four letters, and nothing that can possibly be got wrong.
- It has been in continuous English use for six hundred years without ever sounding invented.
- Jenny is a genuine pet form of it, which most people no longer realize.
To consider
- The record carries it for boys in small numbers, so it is not quite an absolute signal.
- The associations with plainness and with anonymous bodies are both live in English.
- A one-syllable name gives nothing to shorten and no formal version to grow into.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Elise
40%chance Elise feels dated by 2040
Elise 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.
Jane
12%chance Jane feels dated by 2040
Jane has held the top-100 across 6 different decades — it has never depended on fashion, and names like that read the same at any age.
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 Elise and Jane 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 Elise and Jane?
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
- The steadiest names in America
- French names with effortless chic
- Names that work in English and French
- Vintage names making a comeback
- all guides
Where Elise and Jane each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Elise or Jane — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Elise or Jane?
- Jane, in 2025: Jane ranked #221 with 1,380 babies; Elise ranked #223 with 1,367 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Elise or Jane?
- Jane. Over the last five years Elise moved down 11 places; Jane moved up 42 places.
- Which is the older name, Elise or Jane?
- The US record cannot say: both were already in use when it began in 1880.
- How many people are named Elise and Jane?
- About 67,500 people named Elise are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 215,000 people named Jane are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Elises or Janes in the classroom?
- Elise will almost certainly be the only one in school. Jane 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
Keep playing
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