Ailsa
Feminine · “from Ailsa Craig”
Ailsa is a Scottish girl's name taken from an island, Ailsa Craig, a dome of rock rising from the sea off the Ayrshire coast. It is two syllables, soft and clear.
How old is the name Ailsa?
Ailsa first appears in US birth records in 1918 — 107 years ago. The typical Ailsa alive today was born around 1999, making them about 26 years old. About 500 people named Ailsa are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Ailsa most popular?
Ailsa peaked in 1926, reaching #3046 nationally. See the whole 1926 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Ailsa Craig to Ailsa
The story of Ailsa
Ailsa Craig stands alone in the Firth of Clyde, halfway between Belfast and Glasgow, and Irish travelers crossing to Scotland to work called it Paddy's Milestone because it marked the middle of the journey. Scottish families took its first word as a girl's name, one of the few names in Britain drawn from an island. It came to America with Scottish families.
Meaningscholars disagree
from Ailsa Craig, a Scottish island
Ailsa comes from the island of Ailsa Craig; the island's own name is debated, explained as from Norse, fairy rock in Gaelic, or other roots.
How the name formed
- Ailsa Craig
- Ailsa
Related forms: Ailsa
Pronouncing Ailsa
AYL-suh
Two syllables, stressed on the first.
Nicknames for Ailsa
Limited
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1918
- Most girls named
- 201019 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #3046reached in 1926
- Change vs 2023
- 0.0%5 in 2024, from 5
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Ailsa in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Ailsa in Scottish — same name
Ailsas among us
people named Ailsa are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Ailsa sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- It has a real Scottish history.
- It is short and distinctive.
- People will hear Elsa or Ilsa and spell it that way.
- Its meaning is not settled.
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Ailsa
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Ailsas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 500 people named Ailsa are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Ailsa in 2025?
- Ailsa is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Ailsa with classmates?
- Ailsa will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More A names
The most-given names starting with A, all years combined.
Anna#107 · Ashley#164 · Amanda#493 · Amy#257 · Angela#408 · Alice#65 · Ann#1076 · Andrea#235
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Ailsa? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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