Elissa
Meaning and origin
Wiktionary describes it as a female given name from Ancient Greek. Borrowed from Ancient Greek Ἔλῐσσᾰ (Élĭssă); probably from Phoenician 𐤀𐤋𐤀𐤎𐤕 (ʾlʾst /Elishat/), 𐤀𐤋𐤀𐤎 (ʾlʾs /Elisha/).
Source: Wiktionary, English entry for Elissa (CC BY-SA 4.0). This is the origin of the name in English; families in Sweden may have taken it from another language.
Popularity in Sweden
Among newborns, Elissa has been falling over the last few years. Its best year between 1998 and 2022 was 2016. The figures are for this exact spelling; other spellings of the name are counted on their own.
Years with fewer than two babies (fewer than ten before 2004) show as zero in the chart and as – in the table.
Show the figures
| Year | Girls |
|---|---|
| 1998 | – |
| 1999 | – |
| 2000 | – |
| 2001 | – |
| 2002 | – |
| 2003 | – |
| 2004 | 4 |
| 2005 | 11 |
| 2006 | 9 |
| 2007 | 14 |
| 2008 | 18 |
| 2009 | 9 |
| 2010 | 14 |
| 2011 | 15 |
| 2012 | 20 |
| 2013 | 18 |
| 2014 | 21 |
| 2015 | 18 |
| 2016 | 22 |
| 2017 | 17 |
| 2018 | 19 |
| 2019 | 11 |
| 2020 | 14 |
| 2021 | 14 |
| 2022 | 11 |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Women and girls |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 10 |
| 2000 | 11 |
| 2001 | 12 |
| 2002 | 15 |
| 2003 | 21 |
| 2004 | 27 |
| 2005 | 35 |
| 2006 | 50 |
| 2007 | 64 |
| 2008 | 84 |
| 2009 | 95 |
| 2010 | 107 |
| 2011 | 124 |
| 2012 | 143 |
| 2013 | 161 |
| 2014 | 187 |
| 2015 | 215 |
| 2016 | 242 |
| 2017 | 261 |
| 2018 | 281 |
| 2019 | 293 |
| 2020 | 301 |
Elissa in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Elissa.Hi! My name is Elissa.
- Elissa har bott i Uppsala i tre år.Elissa has lived in Uppsala for three years.
- Vet du om Elissa kommer på festen på lördag?Do you know if Elissa is coming to the party on Saturday?
- Elissas mamma är lärare.Elissa's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Elissas mamma is Elissa's mum.
Related names and other spellings
More names
Questions about Elissa
How do you pronounce Elissa in Swedish?
Press Listen at the top of the page to hear Elissa in your device's Swedish voice.
What does the name Elissa mean?
Wiktionary describes it as a female given name from Ancient Greek. Borrowed from Ancient Greek Ἔλῐσσᾰ (Élĭssă); probably from Phoenician 𐤀𐤋𐤀𐤎𐤕 (ʾlʾst /Elishat/), 𐤀𐤋𐤀𐤎 (ʾlʾs /Elisha/).
How popular is Elissa in Sweden?
11 babies were named Elissa in 2022. In 2020, 301 people in Sweden had Elissa as the first name they go by. Among newborns the name has been falling lately and peaked in 2016 in the years SCB covers (1998–2022).
Popularity figures: Statistics Sweden (SCB), name statistics (BE0001) from the Statistical Database, released as open data under CC0. Each spelling is counted as its own name, as SCB does. SCB's open name statistics end with babies named in 2022 and the population on 31 December 2020; SCB stopped producing name statistics in 2024 and now points to the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) for newer figures.
Origins, IPA and recordings: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), via kaikki.org; recordings from Lingua Libre on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA). Lingolib is not affiliated with SCB or Wiktionary. Sources last checked 7 October 2026.