Ilsa
Feminine · “My God is an oath”
Ilsa is a German short form of Elisabeth, and its American peak is 1944 — two years after Casablanca opened. Ingrid Bergman's Ilsa Lund is one of the most recognizable characters in American cinema, and the birth records follow her exactly.
How old is the name Ilsa?
Ilsa first appears in US birth records in 1943 — 82 years ago. The typical Ilsa alive today was born around 2000, making them about 25 years old. About 900 people named Ilsa are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Ilsa most popular?
Ilsa peaked in 1944, reaching #2625 nationally. Today it ranks #5554, 2,929 places below that high. See the whole 1944 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From ʾĔlîšebaʿ to Ilsa
The story of Ilsa
German and Scandinavian shortened Elisabeth freely and produced Ilse, Ilsa, Else, Elsa, Lisbeth and Liese, all of which became independent names. Ilse was ordinary in Germany through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The American record for Ilsa is almost entirely a single event: Casablanca opened in New York in November 1942 and went into general release in 1943, and Ilsa Lund is at the center of it. American births named Ilsa rise sharply in 1943 and peak in 1944, then fall away. It is one of the cleanest film effects in the whole data set.
Meaning
My God is an oath
From Hebrew ʾĔlîšebaʿ, from ʾēl, God, and a second element read either as šebaʿ, oath, or as sābaʿ, abundance. The oath reading is the usual one and the ambiguity is old. German clipped Elisabeth to Ilse and Ilsa, which carry the full name's meaning; the shortening adds nothing of its own.
How the name formed
- ʾĔlîšebaʿ
- Elisabeth
- Ilse
- Ilsa
Related forms: Ilse · Ilse · Elizabeth · Ilze
Pronouncing Ilsa
IL-sah
Two syllables, stress on the first, with a short i. German Ilse ends in a reduced vowel; the American -a gives the ending more weight. EEL-sah is also heard.
Nicknames for Ilsa
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
- 1943
- Most girls named
- 201331 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2625reached in 1944
- Change vs 2024
- +120.0%22 in 2025, from 10
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.
Ilsa in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Ilse in German — spelling variant
- Ilse in Dutch — spelling variant
- Elizabeth in English — related form
- Ilze in Latvian — related form
Ilsas among us
people named Ilsa are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 73,058 born in 2025 was named Ilsa
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Lowanda test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Ilsa's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Lowanda climbed just as high around 1928, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Lowanda's path sketches the road Ilsa is walking now.
Ilsa 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
Ilsa beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Ilsa in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Elisabeth stands behind it as a formal name of the first rank.
- Four letters and two syllables travel easily.
- The meaning is well documented and easy to explain.
- Casablanca is an overwhelming association for anyone who knows the film.
- Ilsa, Ilse and Elsa are close enough to be written for each other.
- It has been rare in American records outside the 1940s.
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What they receive
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Ilsa
Feminine · #5554 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Ilsas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 900 people named Ilsa are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Ilsa in 2025?
- Ilsa ranks #5554 among US girl names in 2025, with 22 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Ilsa?
- About 1 in every 73,058 US girls born in 2025 was named Ilsa — 22 in all.
- Will my child share the name Ilsa with classmates?
- Ilsa will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Ilsa
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Eda#5554 · Phebe#5554 · Felicia#5554 · Audie#5554 · Maryellen#5554 · Warren#5554 · Ruthann#5554 · Nettie#5554
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Ilsa? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Ilsa and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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