Girls' name · since 1880
Elsie
190,072 babies named Elsie in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1918. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #207 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #123 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 190,072
- born since 1880
- 1920s
- peak decade
190,072 babies have been named Elsie since 1880, making it today's #123 girls' name.
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Elsie has been recorded 190,072 times among girls since 1880, currently ranked #123 nationally and more common than 99.3% of girls, with its heaviest use in the 1920s. This profile covers year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution, all derived directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.
- #207 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #123 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 190,072 born since 1880
- 1920s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Elsie ranks #207 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #123 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 190,072 born since 1880, peaking in the 1920s.
- #207 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #123 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 190,072
- born since 1880
- 1920s
- peak decade
Elsie's 190,072 recorded births place it above 99.71% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
51 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by Pennsylvania.
How Elsie compares
190,072 Top 2% higher than 98% 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
Elsie's all-time total is 506x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Elsie | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 190,072 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 5,194 | 21 | 19,840 |
Elsie's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Divide Elsie's SSA record in two at 1953 and the more recent half accounts for 17% of all births, the earlier half the remaining 83%, consistent with a name more common in the past than in recent years. Its calmest year was 1978, with only 97 births recorded -- set against the 1918 peak of 5,194, that's the full swing in one name's fortunes.
Elsie popularity over time - girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025
- Peak year (1918)
- 5,194
- Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
Elsie popularity over time - boys
886 total births recorded since 1880 (Elsie as boys' name)
Elsie by decade
1920s is the heaviest window (42,098 births, 22% of the file).
1920s was Elsie's strongest decade.
42,098 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 22% of all-time use.
Elsie births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 6,648
1880s
6,648 births
- 1890s 16,375
1890s
16,375 births
- 1900s
1900s
18,452 births
- 1910s
1910s
39,274 births
- 1920s
1920s
42,098 births
- 1930s
1930s
22,345 births
- 1940s 11,223
1940s
11,223 births
- 1950s 5,356
1950s
5,356 births
- 1960s 2,564
1960s
2,564 births
- 1970s 1,295
1970s
1,295 births
- 1980s 1,174
1980s
1,174 births
- 1990s 1,456
1990s
1,456 births
- 2000s 2,597
2000s
2,597 births
- 2010s 9,134
2010s
9,134 births
- 2020s 10,081
2020s
10,081 births
What this shows Peak: 1920s at 42,098 births (22% of all-time use).
How Elsie 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 Elsie's total volume
Elsie by state
Where Elsie concentrates geographically, total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Pennsylvania | | 11,596 | 6.1% |
| #2 | New York | | 11,143 | 5.9% |
| #3 | Illinois | | 6,752 | 3.6% |
| #4 | Virginia | | 6,632 | 3.5% |
| #5 | Texas | | 6,385 | 3.4% |
| #6 | Ohio | | 6,177 | 3.2% |
| #7 | California | | 6,065 | 3.2% |
| #8 | North Carolina | | 6,005 | 3.2% |
11,596 of 190,072 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.
Elsie appears in 51 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Elsie? ▼
Where does Elsie sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Elsie most popular? ▼
Where is Elsie most popular? ▼
How long has the name Elsie been used? ▼
What names are similar to Elsie? ▼
What to do with Elsie's data
- Elsie's decade-level peak was the 1920s (42,098 total births); usage has since declined to 10,081 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- Pennsylvania records the most Elsies (11,596 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. Pennsylvania names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Elsie
Nearby Names Like Elsie
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Elsie
Compare Elsie side by side: Elsie vs Elsa Elsie vs Elsy Elsie vs Elspeth
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Elsie
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Elsie: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1918)
Similar record span (~145 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, 1880–2025 (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 Elsie 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.