Given name & surname
Elise
“my God is bountiful”·“God is my oath”·“My God is bountiful”
Elise is a variant of Elisa. In English use, Elisa carries the interpretation “my God is bountiful.” In French use, Elise is a short 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.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Elise is a variant of Elisa. In English use, Elisa carries the interpretation “my God is bountiful.” In French use, Elise is a short 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.
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
In French use, Elise is a short form of Elizabeth. Elizabeth is the usual English spelling of Elisabeth. The related biblical forms connect it with the Hebrew name Elisheba, borne by Aaron’s wife.
Explained through its name family
How it developed
In French use, Elise is a short 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.”
Explained through its name family
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. In French use, Elise is a short 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
Elise through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 75,252
- 66 boys · 75,186 girls
- Most popular year
- 2012
- 2,126 babies
- 2025
- 1,367
- #223 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −23%
- Easing
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 1,367 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 223 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 23.3% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 2,121 in 2012. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (158). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 61,120 as a first name in 2020; 234 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Elise’s family of names
Elise is a short form of Elizabeth. Elise has a related form in Elisa. In German usage, Elise has a conventional equivalent in the Polish form Eliza.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Elise has relatives in 4 languages.
8 related names in 4 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 5
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 2
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 10
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- Elizaborrowing · Polish
- Promiseequivalent
- Elisseequivalent
- Elizeequivalent
- Liseequivalent
- Meliseequivalent
- Eilísequivalent
- Éliseequivalent · French
Show 2 moreShow fewer
See also 3
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Elise
- Elise MertensBelgian tennis playerborn 1995
- Elise StefanikUnited States Representative from New York since 2015 (Republican)born 1984
- Elise RichterAustrian philologist, scholar of Romance languages, and university teacher, Holocaust victim (1865–1943)
- Elise Ottesen-JensenNorwegian-Swedish journalist (1886-1973)
- Elise NealAmerican actressborn 1966
- Elise ThorsnesNorwegian association football playerborn 1988
- Elise Ringenbiathleteborn 1989
- Elise BaumanCanadian actressborn 1990
- Elise Kellond-KnightAustralian soccer playerborn 1990
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Elise, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Ellie
“from a foreign land” · “God is my oath”
>99% girls
Isabel
“my God is bountiful” · “a giving woran”
>99% girls
Sadie
“princess; lady” · “princess”
>99% girls
Zara
“princess”
>99% girls
Betsi
“God is my oath” · “My God is bountiful”
>99% girls
Erzsi
“God is my oath” · “My God is bountiful”
>99% girls
Els
“God is my oath” · “My God is bountiful”
1% boys · 99% girls
Lizzy
“God is my oath” · “My God is bountiful”
>99% girls