Given name
Elisa
“my God is bountiful”·“God is my oath”·“My God is bountiful”
Elisa is a form of Elizabeth. “God is my oath” is the etymological interpretation given for Elisabeth, the same name in a different spelling. “My God is bountiful” is another recorded interpretation, but the two should be kept distinct rather than blended into one literal translation. In German use, Elisa is a variant of Elisabeth. One interpretation is “God is my oath.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
In English use, Elisa carries the interpretation “my God is bountiful.” Elisa is a form of Elizabeth. “God is my oath” is the etymological interpretation given for Elisabeth, the same name in a different spelling. “My God is bountiful” is another recorded interpretation, but the two should be kept distinct rather than blended into one literal translation. In German use, Elisa is a variant of Elisabeth. One interpretation is “God is my oath.”
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is English.
How it developed
Elisa is used as a form of Elizabeth. Elisa is a form of Elizabeth. The shared background comes through Elizabeth: English generally uses Elizabeth with a z, where many European languages retain Elisabeth with an s. Elisabeth is connected with Elisheba; its final element may have been reshaped through association with Hebrew shabbath, “sabbath.”
Combines direct and name-family evidence
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. Elisa is a form of Elizabeth. The history of Elizabeth gives this family its wider story. The New Testament Elisabeth is the mother of John the Baptist. English royal associations include Elizabeth I and, in the twentieth century, Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon and her daughter Elizabeth II. Elizabeth’s familiar forms developed along several paths, including Eliza, Beth, Bess, Betty, Libby and Lizzie.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Elisa through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 47,804
- 143 boys · 47,661 girls
- Most popular year
- 2012
- 854 babies
- 2025
- 674
- #458 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +12%
- Rising
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 674 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 458 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 12.1% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 849 in 2012. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (112). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 52,348 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Elisa’s family of names
In German usage, Elisa is a diminutive of Elisabeth. Elisa is a form of Elizabeth. In English usage, Elisa has a related form in Elise.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Elisa has relatives in 9 languages. Lines run from its English roots to each of them.
Nicknames & forms 20
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 11
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- Elizabethbase name
- ElizaPolish, English
- Lisaequivalent
- Elsaequivalent
- Alisaequivalent
- Lisabethequivalent
- Elīzaequivalent
- ÉlisaFrench
Show 3 moreShow fewer
People named Elisa
- Elisa BonaparteFrench princess (1777-1820)
- ElisaItalian singer-songwriter (born 1977)
- Elisa Longo BorghiniItalian racing cyclistborn 1991
- Elisa BalsamoItalian cyclistborn 1998
- Elisa RigaudoItalian racewalkerborn 1980
- Elisa Leonida ZamfirescuRomanian engineer1887–1973
- Elisa Di FranciscaItalian foil fencerborn 1982
- Elisa FerreiraPortuguese politicianborn 1955
- Elisa DonovanAmerican actressborn 1971
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
Similar names
If you love Elisa, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Sadie
“princess; lady” · “princess”
>99% girls
Isabel
“my God is bountiful” · “a giving woran”
>99% girls
Ellie
“from a foreign land” · “God is my oath”
>99% girls
Oleisa
“my God is bountiful” · “God is my oath”
>99% girls
Zara
“princess”
>99% girls
Lily
Lily is used as a given name and a surname. One English interpretation is “resembling the flower; one who is innocent and beautiful.”
>99% girls
Kinsey
“the king's victory” · “the victorious prince”
>99% girls
Helsah
“my God is bountiful”
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