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🔥Elsa

German diminutive of Elisabeth
"pledged to God"
Grace Royal
By Grace Royal
Updated Mon Jul 14 2025

Elsa Origin and Meaning

The name Elsa is a girl's name of German origin meaning "pledged to God".

Lost in limbo for decades and decades, Elsa now stands a good chance of following along in the progression from Emma to Ella to Etta, thanks to the ice queen heroine who "Let It Go" in the wildly popular Disney movie Frozen. The name shot all the up to Number 286 (its highest ranking since the 1890s) in the year after the release of the movie, though it's now dropped back down the list in the US.

Elsa has international credibility, ranking in the Top 100 in countries as diverse as Sweden, Spain, and France. If Elsa, is just too Frozen for you, sister name Elsie is also on the rise, especially popular in English-speaking countries.

Elsa came into English-speaking use in the nineteenth century, boosted by Wagner's operatic bride in Lohengrin—the first to walk down the aisle to the famous wedding march. For a while Elsa took on a leonine image via the lioness in the popular book and movie Born Free, but that's all but forgotten. Elsa has lots of varied and interesting human namesakes, including designer Schiaparelli, writer Morante, Bride of Frankenstein Lanchester (born Elizabeth). Read more about Elsa and other Disney Princess Names in our featured blog.

# 938 in the US

Elsa Rank in US Top 1000

# 448 on Nameberry

Elsa Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Popularity of the name Elsa

20 Names Similar to Elsa

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Elsa.

Famous People Named Elsa

  • Elsa Maxwell
    American writer and socialite
  • Elsa Sullivan Lanchester
    English character actress
  • Elsa Martinelli
    Italian actress
  • Elsa Peretti
    Italian jewelry designer
  • Elsa Barker
    American writer
  • Elsa Pataky (born Elsa Lafuente Medianu)
    Spanish actress and model
  • Elsa Anna Sofie Hosk
    Swedish model who bears a striking resemblence to Disney's Elsa the Snow Queen
  • Elsa von Freytag
    Loringhoven, German,American artist and poet
  • Elsa Schiaparelli
    Italian fashion designer
  • Elsa Lunghini
    French pop singer
  • Elsa Benitez
    Mexican model
  • Elsa Yur'evna Triolet (born Ella Kagan)
    Russian,French novelist
  • Elsa Einstein
    second wife and cousin of Albert Einstein
  • Elsa Augusta Diehl (b. 2009)
    daughter of actors August Diehl and Julia Malik
  • Elsa Torres
    daughter of Spanish football player Fernando Torres

The name Elsa in Pop Culture

  • Elsa the Snow Queen
    monarch of Arendelle in Disney's "Frozen"
  • Elsa Bannister
    main character in movie "The Lady from Shanghai"
  • Elsa Schraeder ("the Baroness")
    character in "The Sound of Music"
  • Elsa the Lioness
    subject of book/movie "Born Free"
  • Elsa Van Helsing
    character in Disney movie "Frankenweenie"
  • Elsa Frankenteen
    Frankenstein's monster's daughter in the movie 'Scooby Doo & the Ghoul School'
  • Elsa Quinn
    character in movie "My Zinc Bed"
  • Elsa of Brabant
    main character in Wagner's opera "Lohengrin"
  • Elsa Cleeg
    character on animated series "Kim Possible"
  • Elsa de Sica
    character in manga/anime "Gunslinger Girl"
  • Elsa Shivers
    character in movie "I Know What You Did Last Summer"
  • Elsa Mars
    character in "American Horror Story: Freakshow"
  • Dr. Elsa Schneider
    love interest in "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade"
  • Elsa
    main character of Jacqueline Wilson's 'The Bed and Breakfast Kid'
  • Elsa
    villain in children's TV show "Power Rangers: Dino Thunder"
  • Elsa Gardner
    character in TV show "Atypical"
  • Elsa Lichtmann
    character in video game L.A. Noire
  • Elsa Rankfort
    character on the podcast "Voyage To The Stars"

International Variations of the name Elsa

  • Elsje
    Dutch
  • Ilsa
    Dutch
  • Else
    Scandinavian

The name Elsa in Nameberry Blog Posts