Elsie
Elsie was given to 2,236 girls in 2025, #123 among girls’ names; 190,958 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 43,300 Americans named Elsie and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (23% of everyone recorded); the median is 26 years old and half are between 7 and 78.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Elsie by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Elsie mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Elsie is “a female given name from Hebrew.”
Also “a diminutive of the male given name Alexander.”
From a Scottish diminutive of Alison/Alice and Elspeth/Elizabeth.
/ˈɛlsi/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Elsie?
#123 among girls’ names, 2025
Elsie rose from #386 in 2015 to #123 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born rose from 0.48 to 1.4 per 1,000.
5,221 babies in 1918, the peak
Elsie peaked in 1918, when 5,221 babies were given it (5,194 girls, #49 among girls’ names). The 2,236 births of 2025 are 43% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2,236 | #123 | 1.4 |
| 2024 | 1,910 | #155 | 1.2 |
| 2023 | 1,757 | #163 | 1.1 |
| 2022 | 1,563 | #189 | 1.0 |
| 2021 | 1,345 | #222 | 0.82 |
| 2020 | 1,270 | #233 | 0.79 |
| 2019 | 1,288 | #250 | 0.77 |
| 2018 | 1,192 | #278 | 0.70 |
| 2017 | 1,092 | #299 | 0.63 |
| 2016 | 981 | #340 | 0.55 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 848 | #386 | 0.48 |
| 2014 | 1,005 | #334 | 0.56 |
| 2013 | 857 | #365 | 0.49 |
| 2012 | 788 | #393 | 0.45 |
| 2011 | 621 | #479 | 0.35 |
| 2010 | 462 | #639 | 0.26 |
| 2009 | 428 | #680 | 0.23 |
| 2008 | 405 | #739 | 0.21 |
| 2007 | 317 | #882 | 0.16 |
| 2006 | 308 | #866 | 0.16 |
| 2005 | 271 | #918 | 0.15 |
| 2004 | 211 | #1,087 | 0.11 |
| 2003 | 182 | #1,180 | 0.10 |
| 2002 | 176 | #1,166 | 0.10 |
| 2001 | 152 | #1,284 | 0.08 |
| 2000 | 147 | #1,299 | 0.08 |
| 1999 | 147 | #1,260 | 0.08 |
| 1998 | 151 | #1,213 | 0.09 |
| 1997 | 138 | #1,273 | 0.08 |
| 1996 | 128 | #1,333 | 0.07 |
| 1995 | 169 | #1,057 | 0.10 |
| 1994 | 149 | #1,184 | 0.08 |
| 1993 | 144 | #1,204 | 0.08 |
| 1992 | 152 | #1,158 | 0.08 |
| 1991 | 134 | #1,253 | 0.07 |
| 1990 | 144 | #1,186 | 0.08 |
| 1989 | 129 | #1,234 | 0.07 |
| 1988 | 131 | #1,166 | 0.07 |
| 1987 | 122 | #1,192 | 0.07 |
| 1986 | 116 | #1,204 | 0.07 |
| 1985 | 131 | #1,105 | 0.08 |
| 1984 | 108 | #1,208 | 0.06 |
| 1983 | 103 | #1,233 | 0.06 |
| 1982 | 100 | #1,281 | 0.06 |
| 1981 | 113 | #1,172 | 0.07 |
| 1980 | 121 | #1,125 | 0.07 |
| 1979 | 128 | #1,076 | 0.08 |
| 1978 | 97 | #1,268 | 0.06 |
| 1977 | 108 | #1,157 | 0.07 |
| 1976 | 113 | #1,080 | 0.08 |
| 1975 | 141 | #919 | 0.10 |
| 1974 | 144 | #890 | 0.10 |
| 1973 | 134 | #921 | 0.09 |
| 1972 | 130 | #944 | 0.09 |
| 1971 | 141 | #923 | 0.08 |
| 1970 | 159 | #848 | 0.09 |
| 1969 | 166 | #800 | 0.10 |
| 1968 | 166 | #776 | 0.10 |
| 1967 | 199 | #692 | 0.12 |
| 1966 | 228 | #635 | 0.13 |
| 1965 | 253 | #611 | 0.14 |
| 1964 | 248 | #650 | 0.13 |
| 1963 | 301 | #567 | 0.16 |
| 1962 | 309 | #556 | 0.16 |
| 1961 | 346 | #524 | 0.17 |
| 1960 | 348 | #518 | 0.17 |
| 1959 | 401 | #484 | 0.20 |
| 1958 | 416 | #464 | 0.21 |
| 1957 | 499 | #416 | 0.24 |
| 1956 | 477 | #416 | 0.24 |
| 1955 | 526 | #384 | 0.27 |
| 1954 | 549 | #372 | 0.28 |
| 1953 | 593 | #341 | 0.32 |
| 1952 | 575 | #343 | 0.31 |
| 1951 | 631 | #314 | 0.35 |
| 1950 | 689 | #294 | 0.40 |
| 1949 | 729 | #286 | 0.43 |
| 1948 | 903 | #249 | 0.53 |
| 1947 | 953 | #244 | 0.54 |
| 1946 | 1,041 | #222 | 0.66 |
| 1945 | 977 | #202 | 0.75 |
| 1944 | 1,095 | #191 | 0.83 |
| 1943 | 1,245 | #181 | 0.89 |
| 1942 | 1,399 | #166 | 1.0 |
| 1941 | 1,415 | #157 | 1.2 |
| 1940 | 1,466 | #151 | 1.3 |
| 1939 | 1,703 | #140 | 1.6 |
| 1938 | 1,775 | #137 | 1.6 |
| 1937 | 1,938 | #125 | 1.8 |
| 1936 | 1,874 | #123 | 1.8 |
| 1935 | 2,075 | #113 | 2.0 |
| 1934 | 2,270 | #107 | 2.2 |
| 1933 | 2,376 | #99 | 2.4 |
| 1932 | 2,554 | #97 | 2.4 |
| 1931 | 2,807 | #86 | 2.6 |
| 1930 | 2,973 | #88 | 2.6 |
| 1929 | 3,230 | #78 | 2.9 |
| 1928 | 3,470 | #73 | 3.0 |
| 1927 | 3,803 | #72 | 3.2 |
| 1926 | 3,910 | #69 | 3.3 |
| 1925 | 4,146 | #63 | 3.4 |
| 1924 | 4,499 | #61 | 3.6 |
| 1923 | 4,550 | #61 | 3.8 |
| 1922 | 4,618 | #59 | 3.8 |
| 1921 | 4,879 | #55 | 4.0 |
| 1920 | 4,993 | #51 | 4.2 |
| 1919 | 4,995 | #47 | 4.4 |
| 1918 | 5,194 | #49 | 4.5 |
| 1917 | 4,939 | #50 | 4.6 |
| 1916 | 5,027 | #48 | 4.8 |
| 1915 | 4,967 | #41 | 5.0 |
| 1914 | 3,683 | #46 | 4.8 |
| 1913 | 3,209 | #40 | 5.1 |
| 1912 | 2,895 | #42 | 5.2 |
| 1911 | 2,224 | #41 | 5.3 |
| 1910 | 2,141 | #44 | 5.4 |
| 1909 | 2,064 | #39 | 5.9 |
| 1908 | 1,983 | #41 | 5.9 |
| 1907 | 1,872 | #43 | 5.9 |
| 1906 | 1,771 | #40 | 6.0 |
| 1905 | 1,811 | #40 | 6.2 |
| 1904 | 1,719 | #39 | 6.2 |
| 1903 | 1,720 | #38 | 6.6 |
| 1902 | 1,720 | #38 | 6.5 |
| 1901 | 1,747 | #35 | 7.3 |
| 1900 | 2,045 | #38 | 6.8 |
| 1899 | 1,706 | #33 | 7.3 |
| 1898 | 1,919 | #33 | 7.4 |
| 1897 | 1,763 | #31 | 7.5 |
| 1896 | 1,878 | #31 | 7.9 |
| 1895 | 1,795 | #32 | 7.7 |
| 1894 | 1,716 | #33 | 7.7 |
| 1893 | 1,586 | #35 | 7.4 |
| 1892 | 1,489 | #37 | 7.0 |
| 1891 | 1,303 | #38 | 7.0 |
| 1890 | 1,220 | #45 | 6.4 |
| 1889 | 1,199 | #41 | 6.7 |
| 1888 | 1,112 | #47 | 6.2 |
| 1887 | 833 | #49 | 5.7 |
| 1886 | 698 | #58 | 4.8 |
| 1885 | 685 | #55 | 5.1 |
| 1884 | 549 | #63 | 4.3 |
| 1883 | 479 | #65 | 4.3 |
| 1882 | 448 | #65 | 4.2 |
| 1881 | 344 | #70 | 3.7 |
| 1880 | 301 | #78 | 3.3 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Elsie a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Elsie has been given almost only to girls: 886 boys in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Elsie: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Elsie, and how old are they?
43,300 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 23% of the 190,958 Americans ever recorded as Elsie. The median Elsie alive today is 26 years old; half are between 7 and 78.
The 2020 Census counted 43,606 people named Elsie (43,489 women and girls, 117 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 43,759 born in the U.S. The Census count matches that prediction to within 1%.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 8,700 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 7,860 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 2,240 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 2,020 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 4,860 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 17,200 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Elsie born?
The states with the most babies named Elsie are Pennsylvania, New York and Illinois, with 20% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania | 11,596 | #103 | 1.0× |
| New York | 11,143 | #261 | 0.8× |
| Illinois | 6,752 | #124 | 0.9× |
| Virginia | 6,632 | #97 | 1.7× |
| Texas | 6,391 | #302 | 0.7× |
| Ohio | 6,177 | #89 | 0.8× |
| California | 6,065 | #175 | 0.8× |
| North Carolina | 6,026 | #130 | 1.1× |
| Michigan | 4,426 | #93 | 0.8× |
| Kentucky | 4,395 | #113 | 1.2× |
Where Elsie is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Elsie is most over-represented in Virginia: since 1910 it was given 1.7 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Elsie with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 8 names spelled alike, given to 399,369 babies since 1880, Elsie is the most given (48% of them). In 2025 it was given to 2,236 of their 8,629 babies (26%), the second most given that year.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Elsie
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Elsie and names like it
- Compare Elsie and EliseBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1910sElsie peaked in 1918.
- Pennsylvania’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Elsie since 1910.
- Hebrew namesWiktionary’s origin for Elsie: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1918The year the most babies were named Elsie.
- The names of Generation AlphaMost people named Elsie alive today were born 2013-2025.
- Names starting with EMost given first.