| Elisa | Giovanna | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | God is my oath | God is gracious |
| Origin | Italian | italian |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | eh-LEE-zah | joh-VAH-nah |
| Syllables | 3 | 3 |
| First appeared | 1880 | 0 |
| Peak year | 2012 (849) | 2005 (408) |
| In 2025 | 674 | 0 |
| Trend | Steady | Steady |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Elisa | Giovanna |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 4,236 | 1,859 |
| 2010s | 6,579 | 3,287 |
| 2000s | 5,373 | 3,719 |
| 1990s | 5,569 | 2,226 |
| 1980s | 6,739 | 1,037 |
| 1970s | 6,020 | 749 |
| 1960s | 6,196 | 460 |
| 1950s | 2,720 | 220 |
| 1940s | 1,044 | 108 |
| 1930s | 1,056 | 120 |
| 1920s | 1,129 | 163 |
| 1910s | 560 | 172 |
| 1900s | 219 | 15 |
| 1890s | 128 | 0 |
| 1880s | 93 | 0 |
Elisa is an Italian short form of Elisabetta, “God is my oath.”
The Italian feminine of Giovanni (John), ultimately from Hebrew 'Yochanan' meaning 'God is gracious.' Shares the John root rather than the Hannah root.
Elisa is more popular than Giovanna today: about 674 US babies were given the name Elisa in 2025, compared with 0 named Giovanna.
Elisa means God is my oath (Italian origin), while Giovanna means God is gracious (italian origin).
In US records, Elisa first appears in 1880 and Giovanna in 0, so Giovanna has the longer recorded history.