Elisha
Elisha was the 789th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 322 babies. Its best year was 1883, when it ranked 255th; the most babies were born in 2008 (392). Over the last ten years it has moved down 13 places. More babies were named Elisha in the 1980s than in any other decade.
Meaning my God is salvation · Hebrew
Say it ih-LY-shuh /ɪˈlaɪʃə/
- Rank in 2025
- #789 boys, up 54 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 322boys
- Girls and boys
- 21% girls, 79% boys2021–2025
- Peak year
- 2008392 babies
- Total since 1880
- 30,034babies recorded
What does the name Elisha mean?
Elisha is Hebrew Elishaʿ, from El 'God' and a form of the root y-sh-ʿ 'to save', usually rendered 'my God is salvation' or 'God saves'. Elisha was the prophet who succeeded Elijah (2 Kings 2), and Wiktionary notes it has been in quiet use as a boys' name since the 17th century, especially among Puritans and in early America. As a girls' name Elisha is a separate modern variant of Alicia, usually pronounced differently.
אֱלִישָׁע (Elishaʿ) (Biblical Hebrew, “my God is salvation”)ישע (y-sh-ʿ) (Hebrew, “to save”)
How sure is this? Well established. The girls' name Elisha is a variant of Alicia, not the Hebrew name.
Pronunciation: For girls (as a form of Alicia) it is usually uh-LEE-shuh.
Related names: Eliseo, Elisée, Alicia, Elijah.
See also: Hebrew names, names that mean God.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Elisha', Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- Hebrew Bible, 2 Kings 2:9 (Sefaria, with JPS translation), Sefaria
Nicknames for Elisha
The usual nicknames for Elisha are Eli. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 boys named Elisha in the last five years, 1431 were named Eli, against 635 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Boys, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eli · also for Eliezer, Elias, Elijah | Traditional | #104 | 20,888 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are boys given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Elishas go by each one.
Elisha popularity since 1880
| Year | Rank (girls) | Rank (boys) | Babies (girls) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #2,867 | #789 | 59 | 322 |
| 2020 | #2,086 | #843 | 88 | 271 |
| 2010 | #1,585 | #659 | 138 | 364 |
| 2000 | #1,088 | #653 | 190 | 277 |
| 1990 | #647 | #961 | 348 | 118 |
| 1980 | #373 | #832 | 624 | 112 |
| 1970 | #986 | #1,339 | 127 | 39 |
| 1960 | #1,603 | #1,493 | 49 | 29 |
| 1950 | — | #993 | — | 49 |
| 1940 | #3,993 | #842 | 6 | 56 |
| 1930 | — | #755 | — | 71 |
| 1920 | — | #795 | — | 71 |
| 1910 | — | #571 | — | 25 |
| 1900 | — | #362 | — | 37 |
| 1890 | — | #359 | — | 24 |
| 1880 | — | #293 | — | 32 |
How popular is Elisha, counting every spelling?
Elisha is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #769 for boys in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #789 for Elisha on its own. Together these spellings went to 322 boys in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elisha | 322 | #789 | 1,460 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Elisha?
322 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Elisha (0.09 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Elisha born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 26 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Elisha.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Elisha?
About 12,300 people born in the US named Elisha are alive today, with a median age of 20; half are between 11 and 31. That makes Elisha mostly worn by children and young adults.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Elisha by state
How common Elisha was among boys born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Missouri (1.9×), Tennessee (1.7×), Kentucky (1.6×), Minnesota (1.6×), Indiana (1.6×). In 20 states fewer than five boys a year got the name, too few for SSA to publish, so those states show as zero.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Elisha: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Elisha, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Elisha · Sibling names for Elisha
Questions about the name Elisha
What does Elisha mean?
Elisha means “my God is salvation” (Hebrew origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Elisha?
Elisha was the 789th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 322 babies. Its best year was 1883, when it ranked 255th; the most babies were born in 2008 (392). Over the last ten years it has moved down 13 places. More babies were named Elisha in the 1980s than in any other decade.
Is Elisha a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, 21% girls, 79% boys given the name Elisha in the US.
Where is Elisha most popular?
In 2021–2025, Elisha was most common in Missouri (0.33 per 1,000 boys), followed by Tennessee and Kentucky.