Elsworth
Masculine · “An enclosed homestead”
Elsworth is an English place name meaning an enclosed homestead, and it entered American use because of a young man shot on a staircase in the first weeks of the Civil War.
How old is the name Elsworth?
Elsworth first appears in US birth records in 1881 — 144 years ago. The typical Elsworth alive today was born around 1923, making them about 102 years old. About 100 people named Elsworth are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Elsworth most popular?
Elsworth peaked in 1887, reaching #679 nationally. See the whole 1887 chart.
Where it comes from
From Ellsworth to Elsworth
The story of Elsworth
He was a friend of the president, a drillmaster who had made his volunteer company famous, and when Union troops crossed into Virginia he went up to a hotel roof to take down a secessionist flag visible from the White House. The innkeeper shot him on the stairs as he came down with it. He was the first conspicuous Union officer killed, the funeral was held in the East Room, and for the next several years American parents named sons after him in numbers the record still shows — one of the clearest examples anywhere of a single death moving a name.
Meaning
An enclosed homestead
The Old English worth means an enclosure with a dwelling in it, and the first element is a personal name. The same ending closes Wordsworth, Whitworth, Kenilworth and a long row of English places.
How the name formed
- Ellsworth
- Elsworth
Pronouncing Elsworth
ELZ-wurth
Two syllables, stress at the front. The single l is not audible.
Nicknames for Elsworth
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
- 1881
- Most boys named
- 191740 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #679reached in 1887
- Change vs 1975
- 0.0%5 in 1983, 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.
Elsworths among us
people named Elsworth 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
Elsworth 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
- The meaning is settled and takes apart into two ordinary words.
- It is read correctly on sight.
- The ending is a real English word with good associations.
- Ellsworth is the usual spelling and his will be written that way.
- It reads as a surname, which is the trade.
- The name belongs firmly to one American period.
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Elsworth
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Elsworths are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 100 people named Elsworth are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Elsworth in 2025?
- Elsworth is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Elsworth with classmates?
- Elsworth will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More E names
The most-given names starting with E, all years combined.
Edward#224 · Eric#273 · Ethan#24 · Eugene#943 · Elijah#7 · Ernest#1038 · Earl#2230 · Evan#153
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Elsworth? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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