Elysse
A feminine name of Greek origin meaning "sun ray" or "sunlight".
Name Census estimates that about 746 living Americans carry the first name Elysse. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Elysse today is around 25 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Elysse births was 1987 (35 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Elysse. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Elysse with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
746
~ 1 in 459,456 Americans
Peak year
1987
35 babies that year
Average age
25
years old
2024 SSA rank
#12,512
Tracked since 1953
Census
Elysse in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 717 people with the first name Elysse, which placed it at #15,898 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#15,898
National first-name rank
People counted
717
717 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
46.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Elysse
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Elysse is White at 46.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (28.2%) and Black (10.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Elysse described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Elysse at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White46.7% · 335
- Hispanic or Latino28.2% · 202
- Black or African American10.5% · 75
- Asian and Pacific Islander7.9% · 57
- Two or more races6.0% · 43
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 5
Popularity
Elysse: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Elysse from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 208 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Elysse by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Elysse during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Elysses live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. California, Florida, New York recorded the most babies named Elysse, while Texas, New York, Florida recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 34 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Elysse
The given name Elysse is a feminine variant of the French name Elise, which is derived from the ancient Greek name Elisabet or Elisabeth. The name Elisabeth, in turn, has its roots in the Hebrew name Elisheva, meaning "God is my oath" or "consecrated to God."
The earliest recorded use of the name Elysse dates back to the late Middle Ages, when it emerged as a French variant of the more common Elise or Elisabeth. During this time, the name was primarily associated with the nobility and upper classes in France, as well as other parts of Europe where French culture and language held sway.
In the realm of literature, one of the earliest mentions of the name Elysse can be found in the French epic poem "Le Roman de la Rose" (The Romance of the Rose), written in the 13th century by Guillaume de Lorris and Jean de Meun. The poem features a character named Elysse, who represents the idea of divine grace and spiritual enlightenment.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Elysse. One of the most prominent was Elysse Reclus (1827-1904), a French geographer and anarchist who made significant contributions to the field of social geography and advocated for a decentralized, communal society based on mutual aid.
Another notable Elysse was Elysse Lefurgy (1892-1988), an American artist and illustrator known for her vibrant paintings depicting scenes from rural life in New England. Her works were exhibited in prestigious galleries and museums throughout the United States.
In the realm of literature, Elysse Ritter (1919-2007) was a French writer and philosopher who explored themes of existentialism and the human condition in her novels and essays. Her most acclaimed work, "Le Miroir Noir" (The Black Mirror), published in 1956, earned her critical acclaim and a nomination for the prestigious Prix Goncourt.
Moving into the 20th century, Elysse Jourdain (1924-2010) was a French actress and singer who graced the stages of Paris and other European cities with her performances in musicals and operettas. Her portrayal of the lead role in the classic French musical "Les Parapluies de Cherbourg" (The Umbrellas of Cherbourg) in 1964 remains one of her most celebrated roles.
Lastly, Elysse Martínez (born 1976) is a contemporary Mexican-American author and poet whose works explore themes of identity, culture, and the immigrant experience. Her debut poetry collection, "Towards the Bright Mists," published in 2005, garnered widespread critical acclaim and established her as an important voice in contemporary American literature.
People
Elysse + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Elysse as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with E
Other first names starting with E with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Elysse: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Elysse?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 746 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Elysse going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 459,456 US residents.
Is Elysse a common name?
We classify Elysse as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 768 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Elysse most popular?
The single biggest year for Elysse was 1987, when 35 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Elysse is about 25 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Elysse in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 717 people with the name Elysse, or 0.24 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #15,898 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Elysse in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Elysse?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Elysse appears almost entirely female. Of the 713 people counted with this name, 99.4% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Elysse?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Elysse is White at 46.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (28.2%) and Black (10.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Elysse most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Elysse in the 2020 Census, accounting for 46.7% (335 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Elysse in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Elysse a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Elysse in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Elysse still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Elysse in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Elysse can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have Elysse as a first name?
If you just want to know how many Americans are named Elysse, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.