Ilsa
Ilsa is a name with a single cultural origin: German.
- German
Meaning & Origin of Ilsa
What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.
Ilsa is a name with a single cultural origin: German.
Origin data from Behind the Name .
Cultural Origins (via Behind the Name)
- German
The Story of Ilsa
Ilsa first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby girl name in 1943, with 6 babies given the name that year. The name hit its high-water mark in 2011: 34 births, good for #4,244 nationwide. About 22% of every Ilsa on record arrived during the 2010s, its defining decade. As of 2026, Ilsa ranks #9,058 for baby girls with 9 births, falling sharply (-41%). All told, over 914 Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1940s to the 2020s.
Popularity Over Time
Popularity by State
Variants & Related Forms of Ilsa
Foreign forms, alternate spellings, and nicknames that share roots with Ilsa. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Names that sound like Ilsa
Phonetically similar names — useful when Ilsa is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.
Frequently Asked Questions about Ilsa
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About the name Ilsa
Ilsa is a girl baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1943 and has accumulated 914 births in the dataset. Ilsa's peak popularity came in 2011 when it ranked #2,625. Use the chart and map above to compare Ilsa's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.
Continue exploring
- Top names of 2011 →
- Names of the 2010s →
- Names starting with "I" →
- Browse all girl names →
- Top names of 2026 →
Data sources
- Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
- Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
- Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
- Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
- Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .
Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.