How to say it
EL · sie
/ˈɛl.si/
Feminine
Elsie
God is my oath
What it means
Originally a Scottish short for Elspeth (the Scots form of Elizabeth). Now a standalone given name. Stranger Things's Will-and-Eleven creator gave the name a Gen-Alpha reboot.
Elsie started as a Scottish short form of Elspeth, the Scots form of Elizabeth (Hebrew Elisheva, 'God is my oath'). The English-speaking world adopted Elsie as a standalone given name in the 19th century. Elsie Dinsmore (the heroine of a long-running American children's-book series, 1867 onward) and Elsie the Cow (the Borden Dairy mascot since 1939) anchor different generations. The Crown's Elspeth and the broader vintage-revival wave have brought the name back. It entered the US top 300 in 2015. Single syllable, no shorter form.
Popularity over time
peaked at #31 in 1896, currently #123 in 2025.
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, names given to at least 5 babies in a year, 1880–present. See where the names are moving
Heads-up notes
- Pop culture
Elsie the Cow (the Borden Dairy mascot since 1939) is a small American grandparental cultural anchor; the modern usage is mostly the vintage-revival wave.
Who's worn it
Historical figures, characters, and public faces who share the name. The cultural surface, for whatever weight you want to give it.
- Elsie Dinsmore Heroine of Martha Finley's American children's-book series, 1867 onward
Spelling variants
- Elsi
- Elsy
Names with the same feeling
See Elsie from another angle
By meaning
By style