Girls' name · since 1914
Elissa
Since 1914, U.S. Social Security records show 18,033 babies named Elissa, peaking in 1979. See the year-by-year trend, decade totals, and state rankings below, sourced from federal birth data.
- #1,139 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #1,847 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 18,033
- born since 1914
- 1980s
- peak decade
18,033 babies have been named Elissa since 1914, making it today's #1847 girls' name.
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Elissa has been recorded 18,033 times among girls since 1914, currently ranked #1847 nationally and more common than 89% of girls, with its heaviest use in the 1980s. This profile covers year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution, all derived directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1914 to 2025.
- #1,139 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #1,847 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 18,033 born since 1914
- 1980s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Elissa ranks #1,139 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #1,847 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 18,033 born since 1914, peaking in the 1980s.
- #1,139 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #1,847 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 18,033
- born since 1914
- 1980s
- peak decade
Elissa's 18,033 recorded births place it above 98.42% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
43 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by California.
How Elissa compares
18,033 Top 7% higher than 93% of 17,297 names currently given to girls
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked girls names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Elissa's all-time total is 48x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Elissa | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 18,033 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 408 | 21 | 19,840 |
Elissa's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Elissa's full recorded timeline at 1973, 75% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 25% in the earlier half -- usage has skewed toward the present, not a one-decade spike. Its quietest year on record was 1928, with just 5 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 1979 peak of 408 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Elissa popularity over time
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1914–2025
- Peak year (1979)
- 408
- Annual births at peak, across 112 years of records
Elissa by decade
1980s is the heaviest window (3,277 births, 18% of the file).
1980s was Elissa's strongest decade.
3,277 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 18% of all-time use.
Elissa births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1910s 46
1910s
46 births
- 1920s 37
1920s
37 births
- 1930s 378
1930s
378 births
- 1940s 676
1940s
676 births
- 1950s 1,283
1950s
1,283 births
- 1960s
1960s
1,352 births
- 1970s
1970s
2,465 births
- 1980s
1980s
3,277 births
- 1990s
1990s
2,865 births
- 2000s
2000s
2,653 births
- 2010s
2010s
2,115 births
- 2020s 886
2020s
886 births
What this shows Peak: 1980s at 3,277 births (18% of all-time use).
How Elissa compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 girls names closest to Elissa's total volume
Elissa by state
Where Elissa concentrates geographically, total births since 1914
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | California | | 2,429 | 13.5% |
| #2 | New York | | 2,416 | 13.4% |
| #3 | Texas | | 1,774 | 9.8% |
| #4 | Illinois | | 765 | 4.2% |
| #5 | Pennsylvania | | 736 | 4.1% |
| #6 | Florida | | 621 | 3.4% |
| #7 | Ohio | | 580 | 3.2% |
| #8 | New Jersey | | 572 | 3.2% |
2,429 of 18,033 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 43 reporting states.
Elissa appears in 43 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Elissa? ▼
Where does Elissa sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Elissa most popular? ▼
Where is Elissa most popular? ▼
How long has the name Elissa been used? ▼
What names are similar to Elissa? ▼
What to do with Elissa's data
- Elissa's decade-level peak was the 1980s (3,277 total births); usage has since declined to 886 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- California records the most Elissas (2,429 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. California names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Elissa
Nearby Names Like Elissa
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Elissa
Compare Elissa side by side: Elissa vs Elizabeth Elissa vs Eliana Elissa vs Elise
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Elissa
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Elissa: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1979)
Similar record span (~111 yrs)
Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.
Data Sources
Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1914–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Elissa draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.