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 [ 2 syll. el-sa, els-a ] The girl name Elsa is pronounced as EHLSah KEY. Elsa is an English, Scandinavian, Spanish, Finnish, German, and Scottish name of Germanic and Hebrew origin. The name was first popularized among English speakers by Wagner's romantic opera Lohengrin (1848), in which it appeared as the name of the heroine. It was also borne by the real-life Elsa the lioness (1956-1961), raised in captivity as a cub and later released in Kenya; she has been commemorated in the Joy Adamson non-fictional book Born Free (1960), the subsequent film (1966), and the song (1966) by John Barry. The German, English, and Scandinavian name Else and the English name Helsa are forms of the name. In addition, Elsa is a form (English, Scandinavian, and Spanish) of the Czech, English, French, Italian, German, and Portuguese name Alice. Elsa is also a short form (English, Finnish, German, Scandinavian, and Scottish) of the English name Elizabeth. Elsa is also a pet form of the English and Scottish name Elspeth. Elsa is also a short form (English, Finnish, German, Scandinavian, and Scottish) of the Dutch, English, French, German, Greek, and Scandinavian name Elisabeth. The pet forms Ellie (English and Scottish), Elsie (English and Scottish), and Elsy (English), and the spelling variant Elza (Slavic and English) are other forms of Elsa. See also the related form, the Scottish Ailsa. Elsa is a classic favorite. Today it is still somewhat popular as a baby girl name, but to a lesser degree than it was in the past. Its usage peaked in 1901 with 0.037% of baby girls being named Elsa. It had a ranking of #310 then. The baby name has experienced a fall in frequency since then, and in recent times it is used on a modest scale. In 2008, its usage was 0.020% and its ranking #724. Among the family of girl names directly related to Elsa, the English Elizabeth was the most regularly used. In 2008, it was more frequently used than Elsa by 29 times. Baby names that sound like Elsa include the Hungarian Elek, the name Elese, the English Elga, the English Eliesse, the German and English Elis, the English Eliz, the English Elize, the Polish Elka, the Dutch and German Elkie, the English Ellis, the English Ellyse, the English and Spanish Eloise, the French Eloïse, the English and German Elsi, the English and Scottish Elsie, the English Elsy, the English Elyse, the Slavic and English Elza, the Irish Ailis, and the Irish Ailish. Details of famous persons named Elsa: KEY: Pronunciation for Elsa: EH as in "Ed (EH.D)" ; L as in "lee (L.IY)" ; S as in "sea (S.IY)" ; AH as in "hut (HH.AH.T)"   |
