Jelisa
Feminine
Jelisa is a name built out of sound, and it is built well. Every syllable is one consonant followed by one vowel — the commonest shape in English and in most other languages — which is why nobody has ever needed to be taught how to say it. Names that survive their own decade tend to be the ones that obey the rules of the language they were made in, and this one obeys them exactly.
How old is the name Jelisa?
Jelisa first appears in US birth records in 1980 — 45 years ago. The typical Jelisa alive today was born around 1991, making them about 34 years old. About 1,100 people named Jelisa are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Jelisa most popular?
Jelisa peaked in 1989, reaching #1137 nationally. See the whole 1989 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Lisa established in American use in the mid-century to Jelisa
Our story of Jelisa
Picture the moment it gets written down for the first time on a form that has never seen it: the pen pauses, the clerk looks up, and there is no pause at all, because the name presents no problem. J, then a vowel; l, then a vowel; s, then a vowel. Three beats, the middle one stressed, nothing silent, nothing borrowed, no letter doing an unexpected job. Whoever assembled it was working with an ear rather than a book, and an ear is a strict editor. That is why a stranger reads it correctly at first sight, and why a name with no history behind it can still feel entirely settled.
Meaningnot established
Not established
There is no dictionary entry for Jelisa, and it is worth being clear about what that does and does not mean. Name dictionaries record names that came through a written tradition — a saint, a scripture, a king list, a novel. A name assembled in America in the second half of the twentieth century from familiar sounds has no such paper trail, so the books have nothing to print. The absence is a fact about the books. The name is as real as any of the ones they list, and considerably better attested, because the record shows exactly when and where it was given.
How the name formed
- Lisa established in American use in the mid-century
- American naming builds new names on familiar endings
- Jelisa appears in the record around 1980
- runs through one generation and thins out
- no entry in any name dictionary at any point
Related forms: Jalisa · Jolisa
Pronouncing Jelisa
juh-LEE-suh
Three syllables, stress in the middle, and the s between two vowels is voiced — it says z, as it does in easy and rising. Nothing about the spelling misleads.
Nicknames for Jelisa
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
- 1980
- Most girls named
- 1989145 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1137reached in 1989
- Change vs 2023
- −44.4%5 in 2024, from 9
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.
Jelisa in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Jalisa in English — spelling variant
- Jolisa in English — related form
Jelisas among us
people named Jelisa 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
Jelisa 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
- It is read correctly at first sight by people who have never seen it, which is rare for an uncommon name.
- It shortens to Lisa, a complete and internationally recognized name, without any effort.
- The sound is soft throughout, with no hard consonant anywhere in it.
- There is no meaning and no history to offer, and reference books will keep returning nothing.
- It is closely dated to the 1980s and 1990s, which will place her generation for anyone paying attention.
- Jalisa is the commoner spelling, so the first vowel will be corrected against her regularly.
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Jelisa
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Jelisas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,100 people named Jelisa are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Jelisa in 2025?
- Jelisa is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Jelisa with classmates?
- Jelisa will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More J names
The most-given names starting with J, all years combined.
Jennifer#586 · Jessica#665 · Janet#2778 · Julie#872 · Joyce#1071 · Joan#1085 · Julia#131 · Jean#2117
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Jelisa? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Jelisa 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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