Leisa
Feminine · “my God is an oath”
Lisa is the middle of Elisabeth — not the front, which English usually takes, and not the back, which Italian takes, but the two syllables in the center. German and Scandinavian produced it that way, and the ei in this spelling is the German way of writing the long e that results.
How old is the name Leisa?
Leisa first appears in US birth records in 1948 — 77 years ago. The typical Leisa alive today was born around 1964, making them about 61 years old. About 4,500 people named Leisa are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Leisa most popular?
Leisa peaked in 1958, reaching #523 nationally. See the whole 1958 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Elisheva to Leisa
The story of Leisa
Taking the middle of a long name is unusual and mostly German: Lisa from Elisabeth, Bettina from Elisabetta, Sandra from Alessandra. English cuts from the front and Italian from the back, so a middle-clipping arriving in English is a borrowing rather than a native formation. The ei spelling is German too — in German ei is said as a long i and ie as a long e, which is the reverse of what English readers expect, and Leisa is an attempt at that convention by writers who had it half right.
Meaningscholars disagree
my God is an oath
Hebrew Elisheva joins El, God, with a word that can be read as an oath or against the number seven, which was bound up with oath-taking. Both readings are ancient and seriously held. Lisa carries the meaning at one remove, and does so unusually cleanly for a clipping — because it keeps the middle rather than an edge, it is recognizable as Elisabeth in a way that Bess and Betty are not.
How the name formed
- Elisheva
- Elisabeth
- Lisa
- Leisa
Related forms: Liese · Liesa · Lisa
Pronouncing Leisa
LEE-suh
LEE-suh, two syllables, stress at the front. Some say LAY-suh, giving the ei its German value, which is the one reading the spelling would justify and the one nobody uses. Lisa and Leisa are otherwise identical.
Nicknames for Leisa
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
- 1948
- Most girls named
- 1958344 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #523reached in 1958
- Change vs 2023
- −33.3%6 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.
Leisa in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Liese in German — related form
- Liesa in Dutch — related form
- Lisa in Swedish — same name
Leisas among us
people named Leisa 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
Leisa 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
- Elisabeth is available as a formal long form with an enormous documented history.
- Lee works as a short form for either child.
- Two syllables, easy in any accent, and comfortable against almost any surname.
- Lisa is the standard spelling by a wide margin and this will be rewritten as it.
- The ei invites a long a reading, so the name is occasionally mispronounced as well as respelled.
- It is very closely tied to one American generation and dates a person precisely.
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Leisa
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Leisas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 4,500 people named Leisa are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Leisa in 2025?
- Leisa is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Leisa with classmates?
- Leisa will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More L names
The most-given names starting with L, all years combined.
Linda#902 · Lisa#987 · Laura#379 · Lauren#401 · Lillian#57 · Lori#1721 · Louise#514 · Lois#1666
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Leisa? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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