How Many People Are Named Elsie?
An estimated 38,706 people in the United States have the first name Elsie. It is predominantly female (99.5%). The average bearer is 41 years old, and Elsie peaked in popularity in 1918 with 5,221 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Elsie as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Elsie paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Elsie is overwhelmingly female, 886 male births have been registered with this name since 1880.
Estimated Living Americans
38,706
About 1 in 8,855 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Uncommon
Predicted Gender
Female
99.5% confidence
Average Age
41
years old
Peak Year
1918
5,221 births
Total Registered
188,705
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Elsie
Elsie is almost exclusively a female name. Out of 188,705 total births registered, 99.5% were female.
Elsie as a male name
Ranked #4,166 in 1959
5 male births in 1959
Peak: 1927 (36 births)
Elsie as a female name
Ranked #155 in 2024
1,901 female births in 2024
Peak: 1918 (5,194 births)
Elsie: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Elsie span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1920s, when 42,328 babies were registered. Elsie has declined significantly from its peak in the 1920s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Elsie by Decade
How has Elsie tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
| Decade | Total | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 6,677 | 29 | 6,648 | |
| 1890s | 16,456 | 81 | 16,375 | |
| 1900s | 18,555 | 103 | 18,452 | |
| 1910s | 39,471 | 197 | 39,274 | |
| 1920s | 42,328 | 230 | 42,098 | |
| 1930s | 22,513 | 168 | 22,345 | |
| 1940s | 11,285 | 62 | 11,223 | |
| 1950s | 5,372 | 16 | 5,356 | |
| 1960s | 2,563 | 0 | 2,563 | |
| 1970s | 1,296 | 0 | 1,296 | |
| 1980s | 1,173 | 0 | 1,173 | |
| 1990s | 1,456 | 0 | 1,456 | |
| 2000s | 2,594 | 0 | 2,594 | |
| 2010s | 9,133 | 0 | 9,133 | |
| 2020s | 7,833 | 0 | 7,833 | |
Elsie by State
Birth registrations for Elsie span all 51 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in Pennsylvania, New York, Illinois. The lowest are in Nevada, Alaska, Wyoming. On average, about 2,797 Elsies were registered per state.
Elsie + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Elsie as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Elsie
Other first names starting with E with a similar number of bearers.
Elsie: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Elsie?
We estimate approximately 38,706 people named Elsie are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 8,855 Americans share this first name.
Is Elsie a common name?
Elsie is classified as "Uncommon" and is more popular than 99% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 188,705 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Elsie most popular?
Elsie reached peak popularity in 1918, when 5,221 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Elsie is approximately 41 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Elsie a female name?
Elsie is predominantly female. 99.5% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Elsie Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Elsie Smith, Elsie Johnson, Elsie Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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