Elisse
Feminine · “Phoenician”
Dido had two names, and Virgil uses both. In the Aeneid she is Dido to the narrator and Elissa to those close to her — and Elissa, not Dido, appears to be the older Phoenician name, from Elishat, while Dido may have been a title or an epithet.
How old is the name Elisse?
Elisse first appears in US birth records in 1951 — 74 years ago. The typical Elisse alive today was born around 2003, making them about 22 years old. About 500 people named Elisse are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Elisse most popular?
Elisse peaked in 1986, reaching #4186 nationally. Today it ranks #7491, 3,305 places below that high. See the whole 1986 chart.
Where it comes from
From Elishat to Elisse
The story of Elisse
Greek and Roman writers give the founder of Carthage two names and are not consistent about which is primary. Timaeus, writing in the third century BC, calls her Elissa; Virgil, four centuries later, uses Dido far more often but keeps Elissa in the mouths of her sister and in moments of intimacy. Ancient authors offer folk etymologies for Dido, including a Phoenician word for wanderer, none of them convincing. The likeliest reading is that Elishat was the personal name and Dido a byname. As a modern American given name Elisse is a respelling of Elise, and the figures peak in 1986.
Meaningscholars disagree
Phoenician, of uncertain sense; or a short form of Elisabeth
Elissa is generally traced to Phoenician Elishat, which may contain the divine element El. The meaning is not established. In modern American use Elisse is more often a respelling of Elise, the French short form of Élisabeth, from Hebrew Elisheva, my God is an oath. The two lines are separate and the spelling does not distinguish them.
How the name formed
- Elishat
- Elissa
- Elisse
Related forms: Élise · Elissa · Elise
Pronouncing Elisse
eh-LEESE
Two syllables, stress on the second, with a hissed final s rather than a z. Elissa is three syllables with the stress on the middle one, and is a different name in sound.
Nicknames for Elisse
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
- 1951
- Most girls named
- 202019 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #4186reached in 1986
- Change vs 2024
- 0.0%14 in 2025, from 14
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.
Elisse in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Élise in French — spelling variant
- Elissa in English — related form
- Elise in German — spelling variant
Strongest US states over the last decade: California.
Elisses among us
people named Elisse are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 114,805 born in 2025 was named Elisse
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Elisse
- #7491
- Elisse on the 2025 chart
- #936
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Elisse went to 14 girls in 2025, but Elysse is the same name said out loud. Together the 2 spellings went to 24, which makes it the 936th most-given girls’ name of the year — 6,555 places above the chart.
- Elisse14
- Elysse10
About 1 girl in 66,969 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 114,805 for Elisse 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 Cherylynn test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Elisse's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Cherylynn climbed just as high around 1960, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Cherylynn's path sketches the road Elisse is walking now.
Elisse 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
Elisse beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Elisse in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Ellie and Elle are immediate, current short forms.
- It is soft, short and easy to say in English or French.
- It connects to one of the best-documented names in Europe.
- Elise is the standard spelling and will be substituted.
- The doubled s invites a three-syllable misreading as Elissa.
- Two unrelated sources feed the same modern spelling.
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What they receive
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Elisse
Feminine · #7491 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Elisses 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 Elisse are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Elisse?
- Elisse is the most-used spelling in US records — 14 of the 24 babies given the name in 2025. The others recorded are Elysse.
- How popular is the name Elisse in 2025?
- Elisse ranks #7491 among US girl names in 2025, with 14 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Elisse?
- About 1 in every 114,805 US girls born in 2025 was named Elisse — 14 in all.
- Will my child share the name Elisse with classmates?
- Elisse will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Elisse
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Christie#7491 · Carmelita#7491 · Jetta#7491 · Hildegard#7491 · Rickie#7491 · Billy#7491 · Angelyn#7491 · Jewell#7491
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Elisse? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Elisse and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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