Girls' name · peaked in 1896
Elsie name popularity since 1925
86,161 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Elsie. Half of them were born in 1941 or earlier, so the typical Elsie is about 85 years old in 2026. Elsie peaked in 1896 as the #31 name for girls, and it ranked #123 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 86,161
- Named Elsie, 1925–2025
- Peak year
- 1896
- #31 for girls that year
- In 2025
- #123
- for girls in 2025 (2,236 babies)
- Girls / boys
- 99.6% girls
- 85,784 girls · 377 boys
- Most popular in
- North Dakota
- 2.30× its national share
Peak year is the year Elsie made up the largest share of US girls, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Elsie births per year, 1925–2025
The biggest year on this chart was 1925. Measured as a share of all babies, Elsie peaked earlier, in 1896.
- Steepest fall: Between 1944 and 1949, Elsie's share of baby girls fell by 48%, from 1 in 1,210 to 1 in 2,350.
- Fastest rise: Between 2007 and 2012, it became 2.7× more common, from 1 in 6,070 baby girls to 1 in 2,230.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Elsie's share of all US girls five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Elsie.
Decade by decade
Babies named Elsie in each decade, and its rank among girls' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 18,559 | 131 | – |
| 1930s | 22,345 | 168 | #113 |
| 1940s | 11,223 | 62 | #202 |
| 1950s | 5,356 | 16 | #385 |
| 1960s | 2,564 | 0 | #611 |
| 1970s | 1,295 | 0 | #919 |
| 1980s | 1,174 | 0 | #1,105 |
| 1990s | 1,456 | 0 | #1,060 |
| 2000s | 2,597 | 0 | #918 |
| 2010s | 9,134 | 0 | #386 |
| 2020–25 | 10,081 | 0 | #123 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 girls that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
42.8% of babies named Elsie from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Silent Generation years (1928–1945). The full split by generation:
Where Elsie is most popular
The index compares Elsie's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Elsie.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| North Dakota | 2.30× | 602 |
| Virginia | 2.09× | 3,912 |
| Hawaii | 2.05× | 531 |
| New Mexico | 1.99× | 915 |
| West Virginia | 1.86× | 1,356 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Elsie and were given to at least 1,000 girls from 1925 to 2025, with the year each one was most popular.
| Spelling | Girls | Peak year |
|---|---|---|
| Elsie (this page) | 85,784 | 1896 |
| Elise | 71,188 | 2012 |
| Elsy | 1,832 | 2020 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 1999 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Elsie's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Elsie.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Elsie (1896).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data