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GENDER: Feminine

PRONUNCIATION: EL sah

ETYMOLOGY: German and English origin a derivative of the Hebrew name for Elizabeth. The name means "My God is a vow." or joyful.'

ORIGIN & HISTORY: Elsa was sometimes considered to be of the short form of Elizabeth. Elizabeth is from the Hebrew Elisheva or Elisheba was the Old Testament name given to the wife of Aaron who assisted Moses in leading the Hebrew people out of Egypt to the promised land. In the New Testament Elizabeth was the mother of John the Baptist.

POPULARITY: Elsa has steadily held its place in the top 100 ranked baby girl names in Sweden and France. In the United States it has been within the top 1000 since recorded in 1900 but has not been above the 500 top names since 1920. Elsa has likely been a preference or commonly used name in Sweden and France over the years coming into its own popularity alongside Elizabeth, which is popular worldwide because of its ties to Biblical characters and royalty.

FACTS:
Elsa has three designated days: In Finnish October 14, Estonian November 19, and in Swedish October 30.

Elsa was the name of the lioness in the book and movie "Born Free."

Elsa Schiaparelli was a fashion designer of the 1920's and 30's.

NAMESAKES:
Elsa's Design's is a website hosted by Elsa Goussard of South Africa who designs beautiful embroidery patterns of flowers.

Elsa's Kopje is a hidden away camping area where guests can observe the wildlife of Kenya's Meru National Park.

Elsa's Home is a Bed and Breakfast in central Utrecht, Netherlands

FAMOUS PERSONS:
Elsa is the name of a very real lioness who was the subject of a book about her life written by Joy Adamson titled "Born Free." It was for Elsa and Joy Adamson that the Meru National Park in Kenya gained its sanctuary and popularity. There was an extremely popular movie about the story of Elsa "Born Free" as well as the movies hit song them of the same name. The movie premiered in 1966 directed by James Hill. There is also a book "Wild Heart: The Story of Joy Adamson, Author of Born Free" written by Anne E. Neimark.

Elsa Lanchester was born October 28, 1902 London, England and died December 26, 1986 in Woodland Hills, California USA. Elsa was an Oscar-nominated English character actress who starred in the movie "Bride of Frankenstein" (1935) and was well known for many other movie roles until her last in 1980 "Die Laughing". Elsa was a naturalized U.S. Citizen and the wife of Charles Laughton. After his death in 1962 Elsa caused a Hollywood scandal saying they never had children because Laughton was Homosexual. His co-star and friend Maureen O'Hara refuted the story saying he claimed his biggest regret was not having children of their own. Who had claimed that Lanchester was unable to conceive because of two "botched abortions" which she admitted to in her own biography "Elsa Lanchester Herself".

NAME VARIANTS: Else, Elsie, Elsy, Elza, and Ilse

Learn more about this author, Glenda K. Fralin.
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