Elissa
Feminine
Elissa was Dido's other name — the Phoenician princess who founded Carthage, and whom Virgil calls Elissa when he wants the older, Punic version of her.
How old is the name Elissa?
Elissa first appears in US birth records in 1914 — 111 years ago. The typical Elissa alive today was born around 1989, making them about 36 years old. About 17,000 people named Elissa are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Elissa most popular?
Elissa peaked in 1979, reaching #496 nationally. Today it ranks #1844, 1,348 places below that high. See the whole 1979 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Elissa to Elissa
The story of Elissa
Elissa fled Tyre after her brother killed her husband, landed in North Africa, and founded Carthage in the tradition around 814 BC — the ox-hide story, where she claims as much land as a hide will cover and cuts it into strips. Virgil gives her Aeneas and a pyre. The name appears in American records in current use.
Meaningscholars disagree
Not established
The Phoenician name behind Elissa is genuinely unrecovered; proposals connect it to a word for a goddess or to 'wanderer'. Virgil uses both Dido and Elissa for the same queen. A second modern route treats Elissa as an elaboration of Elizabeth or Alice. Neither is settled.
How the name formed
- Elissa
- Dido
Related forms: Ἔλισσα · Alissa · Elissa
Pronouncing Elissa
ih-LISS-uh
Three syllables, stress in the middle. Elissa and Alissa are said close to identically.
Nicknames for Elissa
Moderate
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
- 1914
- Most girls named
- 1982364 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #496reached in 1979
- Change vs 2023
- −28.0%108 in 2025, from 150
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.
Elissa in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Ἔλισσα in Greek — transliteration
- Alissa in English — related form
- Elissa in Italian — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Florida.
Elissas among us
people named Elissa are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 14,882 born in 2025 was named Elissa
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Elissa
- #1844
- Elissa on the 2025 chart
- #826
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Elissa went to 108 girls in 2025, but Elyssa is the same name said out loud. Together the 2 spellings went to 134, which makes it the 826th most-given girls’ name of the year — 1,018 places above the chart.
- Elissa108
- Elyssa26
About 1 girl in 11,995 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 14,882 for Elissa itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Darleen test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Elissa's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Darleen climbed just as high around 1943, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Darleen's path sketches the road Elissa is walking now.
Elissa 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.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Elissa is headed
Elissa should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Elissa beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Elissa in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The founder of Carthage carries it, with one of the best foundation stories in antiquity.
- Ellie and Lissa are two short forms, both with real currency.
- Three syllables with a strong middle, a rhythm that carries well.
- The Phoenician meaning is genuinely unrecovered.
- Alissa, Elyssa and Melissa are all close enough to cause confusion.
- Virgil's version of the story ends in suicide.
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What they receive
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Elissa
Feminine · #1844 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Elissas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 17,000 people named Elissa are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Elissa?
- Elissa is the most-used spelling in US records — 108 of the 134 babies given the name in 2025. The others recorded are Elyssa.
- How popular is the name Elissa in 2025?
- Elissa ranks #1844 among US girl names in 2025, with 108 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Elissa?
- About 1 in every 14,882 US girls born in 2025 was named Elissa — 108 in all.
- Will my child share the name Elissa with classmates?
- Elissa will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Elissa
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Darlene#1844 · Leen#1844 · Vivien#1844 · Ambar#1844 · Emberleigh#1844 · Francine#1844 · Rhaenyra#1844 · Brenna#1844
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Elissa? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Elissa and another name?
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Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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