Elsie
Feminine · “My God is an oath”
Elsie is overwhelmingly a girls’ name — 190,072 girls against 886 boys since 1880. See Elsie as a boy name
Elsie is a short form that has been a full name for two centuries, and in America it has been attached to two remarkable things: a cartoon cow that became one of the most recognized trademarks in the country, and a set of photographs that fooled the creator of Sherlock Holmes.
How old is the name Elsie?
Elsie was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Elsie alive today was born around 1921, making them about 104 years old. About 46,500 people named Elsie are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Elsie most popular?
Elsie peaked in 1896, reaching #31 nationally. Today it ranks #123, 92 places below that high. See the whole 1896 chart.
Where it comes from
From Elizabeth to Elsie
The story of Elsie
The cow came out of a dairy advertising campaign and outgrew it completely, appearing at a world's fair, in films, and on packaging for the better part of a century — at one point more Americans could identify her than could name their own senators. The photographs are stranger. Two girls in a Yorkshire village, one of them called Elsie, took pictures of themselves with paper fairies fixed to hatpins, and the images convinced a number of adults including Arthur Conan Doyle, who wrote a book arguing they were genuine. The girls admitted the hoax sixty years later, and one of them maintained to the end that the last photograph was real.
Meaningscholars disagree
My God is an oath
The name descends from Elizabeth, whose Hebrew original joins the name of God to a word about oaths or abundance — the second half has been argued over for a long time. Some bearers come instead from Alice or from Elspeth, the Scottish form, and the short form does not distinguish them.
How the name formed
- Elizabeth
- Elspeth
- Elsie
Related forms: Elsie · Elspeth
Pronouncing Elsie
EL-see
Two syllables, stress at the front. The s is said as a soft s rather than a z, unlike in Elsa.
Nicknames for Elsie
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
- 1880
- Most girls named
- 19185,194 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #31reached in 1896
- Change vs 2022
- +43.1%2,236 in 2025, from 1,563
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.
Elsie in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Elsie in German — same name
- Elspeth in Scottish — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Minnesota, Texas. International figures from Office for National Statistics, National Records of Scotland. Sources
Elsies among us
people named Elsie are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 719 born in 2025 was named Elsie
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Elsie is on its second act. Revived names age gently: the generation that wore them first is far enough away that the name feels classic rather than dated.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Elsie is headed
Elsie looks set to keep climbing gently, with roughly 21% more babies a year by 2030 if the current curve holds.
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.
Elsie beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Elsie in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- It is short, warm and easy for a small child to say about herself.
- It has a formal name of great standing behind it.
- It is coming back into use after a long absence, which suits a name of this age.
- The dairy mascot is still the first association for many Americans.
- Elsie, Elsy and Ellsie are all recorded and hers will be written as one of them.
- The spelling is recorded for boys as well, though it belongs overwhelmingly to the girls.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Elsie to the vote.
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What they receive
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Elsie
Feminine · #123 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Elsies are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 46,500 people named Elsie are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Elsie in 2025?
- Elsie ranks #123 among US girl names in 2025, with 2,236 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Elsie?
- About 1 in every 719 US girls born in 2025 was named Elsie — 2,236 in all.
- Will my child share the name Elsie with classmates?
- Elsie will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Elsie
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Magnolia#124 · Emerson#122 · Mary#125 · Hadley#121 · Hallie#120 · Scottie#126 · Valerie#127 · Esther#119
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Elsie? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Elsie and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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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; international figures from national statistics agencies. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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