Elza
Masculine · “my God is an oath”
Elza is given to both — 2,111 boys and 831 girls since 1880. See Elza as a girl nameSee other names given to both
The most played piece of wedding music in America is the bridal chorus from Lohengrin, and it is sung at Elsa's wedding — to a knight who has forbidden her to ask his name. She asks. He leaves. The music has been detached from the story for so long that almost nobody at the ceremony knows.
How old is the name Elza?
Elza was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Elza alive today was born around 1922, making them about 103 years old. About 300 people named Elza are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Elza most popular?
Elza peaked in 1880, reaching #341 nationally. See the whole 1880 chart.
Where it comes from
From Elisheva to Elza
The story of Elza
Wagner took Elsa of Brabant from medieval German poems, and Lohengrin was performed across Europe from the middle of the nineteenth century onward, which is when Elsa spread well beyond German-speaking families. The z spelling has a separate and more practical explanation. In Hungarian, s is the letter for the sh sound, so Elsa written in Hungarian would be read Elsha; the sound of Elsa has to be spelled Elza. Portuguese voices an s between vowels for the same reason. So Elza is not a decoration but a translation of the spelling, and it arrived in American records from Hungary, Brazil and the Slavic-speaking countries with the people who used it.
Meaning
my God is an oath
Elza is a spelling of Elsa, the German short form of Elisabeth, from Hebrew Elisheva: el, God, with the word for an oath. The meaning belongs to the full name; Elsa and Elza are what four centuries of German speech did to it.
How the name formed
- Elisheva
- Elisabeth
- Elsa
- Elza
Related forms: Elsa · Elza · Elza · Elza
Pronouncing Elza
EL-zah
Two syllables, stress on the first, with an audible z. Elsa with an s is said the same way by most English speakers, which is exactly the confusion the z spelling was invented to prevent.
Nicknames for Elza
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 boys named
- 192268 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #341reached in 1880
- Change vs 1987
- +20.0%6 in 1990, 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.
Elza in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Elsa in German — same name
- Elza in Hungarian — same name
- Elza in Portuguese — same name
- Elza in Georgian — transliteration
Elzas among us
people named Elza 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
Elza 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
- Four letters and two syllables, spelled the way it is said.
- Used in German, Hungarian, Portuguese and Georgian families without adjustment.
- It carries the meaning of Elisabeth without carrying its length.
- Elsa is far commoner in America and this spelling will be corrected toward it constantly.
- A very well known animated film has attached Elsa to one character for a generation of children.
- It is strongly represented among the oldest generations, which gives it a distinct period sound.
- The very few boys given this spelling will be read as girls on paper.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Elza to the vote.
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What they receive
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Elza
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Elzas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 300 people named Elza are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Elza in 2025?
- Elza is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Elza with classmates?
- Elza 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 Elza? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Elza and another name?
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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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