Else

femaleStatistical record

What official birth registration shows about Else: which national registrars published it, in which years, and how its recorded position changed.

No researched meaning, origin or pronunciation yet — what that means.

Else: Recorded since 1945, its highest recorded position is #15, and it stood at #191 in 2025.

2registrars recorded it
82times a registrar ranked it
81years from first to last
#15highest recorded position
14groupings it qualifies for
15names it appears alongside

What stands out in Else's record

Held a top-100 place for 25 years running. Names by top-100 run
Shares a published list with another name across 80 years. Longest shared records

Region

Falling

among girls in England and Wales · 2008–2022

View as table

England and Wales · Girls rank by year
Year	Rank
2008	#5545
2022	#5669

VerifiedSource: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales.Confidence: high.

See all England and Wales names · Source: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales

What the data shows

FallingEngland and Wales · Girls

Recorded in official data among girls in Norway in 80 of the 81 years from 1945 to 2025.

In 2022: #194 among girls in Norway, #5669 among girls in England and Wales.

Official data from 2 national registrars across 2 regions, 1945–2025 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1945
First recorded at #15 among girls in Norway in 1945 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Norway · Girls
Highest recorded1945–2025
Highest recorded position: #15 among girls in Norway, in 1945 (recorded 1945–2025).
Norway · Girls
Most recent2025
Most recently recorded at #191 among girls in Norway, in 2025.
Norway · Girls

Else appears in 2 of the published lists Namewise holds. The longest record is Norway · Girls, which has ranked it in 80 years beginning in 1945, and has registered 7,000 births with the name.

Else across 2 official records

Each registrar publishes its own list, so these figures are read down a row, never across one. A position in one country is not comparable with a position in another, and Namewise never combines them into a single ranking. The birth counts do not compare across rows either, for a different reason: England and Wales registers roughly thirty times as many births a year as Northern Ireland, so a larger total says which registrar recorded it as much as how widely the name was given.

Else's first, highest and most recent recorded position in each official list, with the number of births each registrar registered with the name and its largest single year
Published list	First recorded	Highest	Most recent	Years recorded	Births registered	Most in one year
Norway · Girls	#15 (1945)	#15 (1945)	#191 (2025)	80 of 81	7,000 (1945–2025)	471 (1945)
England and Wales · Girls	#5545 (2008)	#5545 (2008)	#5669 (2022)	2 of 15	6 (2008–2022)	3 (2008)

Else by decade in Norway · Girls

Births registered with the name in each decade of this one list, with the number of years the list covers in that decade. Bars are scaled on births a year, which is the figure that compares between decades — a decade the list only partly covers has a smaller total without being a quieter decade. Figures belong to this registrar alone and do not carry to another.

Births registered with Else in Norway · Girls, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1940sbusiest	2,139	5 of 10	428
1950s	2,582	10 of 10	258
1960s	1,197	10 of 10	120
1970s	391	10 of 10	39
1980s	209	10 of 10	21
1990s	119	10 of 10	12
2000s	78	9 of 10	9
2010s	150	10 of 10	15
2020s	135	6 of 10	23

Across Norway · Girls, the 1940s were its busiest decade — the 5 years of it this list covers, averaging 428 births a year.

Its sharpest single-year move came between 1957 and 1958, when recorded births fell by 73, from 227 to 154.

See the names Norwayhas recorded the most births with →

Else appears in

Groupings this name qualifies for under their own stated rules, from the same official statistics shown above.

Popularity data

Official popularity data is available for 2 regions, from 1945 to 2025. Highest recorded position: #15 in Norway in 1946.

Else's recorded popularity observations by year, region and administrative category, including rank, registered births, source confidence and when each region's data was last reviewed.
Year	Region	Category	Rank	Births registered	Confidence	Status
2022	England and Wales	female	#5669	3	High	Verified
2008	England and Wales	female	#5545	3	High	Verified
2025	Norway	female	#191	24	High	Verified
2024	Norway	female	#199	22	High	Verified
2023	Norway	female	#178	27	High	Verified
2022	Norway	female	#194	22	High	Verified
2021	Norway	female	#187	22	High	Verified
2020	Norway	female	#244	18	High	Verified
2019	Norway	female	#264	16	High	Verified
2018	Norway	female	#289	15	High	Verified
2017	Norway	female	#242	21	High	Verified
2016	Norway	female	#286	17	High	Verified
2015	Norway	female	#352	12	High	Verified
2014	Norway	female	#376	11	High	Verified
2013	Norway	female	#289	18	High	Verified
2012	Norway	female	#390	10	High	Verified
2011	Norway	female	#293	17	High	Verified
2010	Norway	female	#344	13	High	Verified
2009	Norway	female	#387	11	High	Verified
2008	Norway	female	#440	8	High	Verified
2007	Norway	female	#446	8	High	Verified
2006	Norway	female	#516	6	High	Verified
2005	Norway	female	#539	5	High	Verified
2004	Norway	female	#401	9	High	Verified
2002	Norway	female	#294	14	High	Verified
2001	Norway	female	#374	10	High	Verified
2000	Norway	female	#459	7	High	Verified
1999	Norway	female	#369	10	High	Verified
1998	Norway	female	#397	9	High	Verified
1997	Norway	female	#604	4	High	Verified
1996	Norway	female	#282	15	High	Verified
1995	Norway	female	#412	9	High	Verified
1994	Norway	female	#277	16	High	Verified
1993	Norway	female	#278	17	High	Verified
1992	Norway	female	#297	15	High	Verified
1991	Norway	female	#357	12	High	Verified
1990	Norway	female	#366	12	High	Verified
1989	Norway	female	#277	18	High	Verified
1988	Norway	female	#246	23	High	Verified
1987	Norway	female	#349	13	High	Verified
1986	Norway	female	#246	20	High	Verified
1985	Norway	female	#290	16	High	Verified
1984	Norway	female	#223	22	High	Verified
1983	Norway	female	#262	18	High	Verified
1982	Norway	female	#182	31	High	Verified
1981	Norway	female	#199	27	High	Verified
1980	Norway	female	#234	21	High	Verified
1979	Norway	female	#188	29	High	Verified
1978	Norway	female	#159	35	High	Verified
1977	Norway	female	#167	33	High	Verified
1976	Norway	female	#163	33	High	Verified
1975	Norway	female	#147	40	High	Verified
1974	Norway	female	#160	39	High	Verified
1973	Norway	female	#153	38	High	Verified
1972	Norway	female	#122	56	High	Verified
1971	Norway	female	#155	38	High	Verified
1970	Norway	female	#124	50	High	Verified
1969	Norway	female	#87	90	High	Verified
1968	Norway	female	#80	104	High	Verified
1967	Norway	female	#83	94	High	Verified
1966	Norway	female	#81	96	High	Verified
1965	Norway	female	#67	129	High	Verified
1964	Norway	female	#66	124	High	Verified
1963	Norway	female	#63	131	High	Verified
1962	Norway	female	#62	138	High	Verified
1961	Norway	female	#62	145	High	Verified
1960	Norway	female	#60	146	High	Verified
1959	Norway	female	#58	150	High	Verified
1958	Norway	female	#57	154	High	Verified
1957	Norway	female	#42	227	High	Verified
1956	Norway	female	#43	243	High	Verified
1955	Norway	female	#39	242	High	Verified
1954	Norway	female	#31	255	High	Verified
1953	Norway	female	#23	299	High	Verified
1952	Norway	female	#16	352	High	Verified
1951	Norway	female	#20	310	High	Verified
1950	Norway	female	#19	350	High	Verified
1949	Norway	female	#17	370	High	Verified
1948	Norway	female	#17	417	High	Verified
1947	Norway	female	#16	419	High	Verified
1946	Norway	female	#15	462	High	Verified
1945	Norway	female	#15	471	High	Verified

England and Wales hub — collected by Office for National Statistics
Norway hub — collected by Statistics Norway (SSB)

See methodology and data sources for how popularity data is collected and what "confidence" means.

What the record shows

Recorded by 2 registrars between 1945 and 2025, ranked in 80 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #15, first reached in 1945.

It held a top-100 place in 25 years, 25 of them consecutive.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 471 births, registered in Norway in 1945.

Its record falls into 2 separate stretches, with a longest absence of 1 year.

A second registrar first ranked it in 2008, and 63 years separate the first registrar to record it from the last.

Every figure here is counted from the seven official registrars Namewise holds. A position is only ever a place within the list that published it, and a record that thins or stops is a fact about what registrars printed — never about how many children received the name.

Where to go next

Records with a comparable body of evidence, so the catalogue can be read outward from this one. Each group states the rule it was selected by.

Next in the catalogue

The records either side of this one alphabetically.

Elsa · #55, 80y
Elsbeth · #1809, 29y
Else-Marie · #217, 17y
Elsey · #3178, 11y

A comparable record

Records held by the same 2 registrars, over a similar number of ranked years, whose highest position is closest to this one. A similar body of evidence — never a claim that the names themselves are alike.

Ronny · #15, 80y
Rolf · #14, 81y
Cecilie · #17, 79y
Leif · #17, 81y

Also first recorded in the 1940s

Records whose earliest ranking in Namewise's registrar data also falls between 1940 and 1949.

Ellen · #15, 81y
Erik · #15, 81y
Gunn · #15, 60y
Jonathan · #15, 70y

Comparisons involving Else

Existing comparison pages where Else and another name were ranked in the same published list, in the same years, on the same scale. Each has its own evidence; none of them says the names are alike.

Longest shared records

Names ranked alongside Else in the same published list across at least 25 years.

Randi vs Else
In 1945 they stood at #11 and #15 in Norway · Girls, 4 places apart; by 2025 they were #522 and #191.
Randi · Else · 74 shared years, 1945–2025 · Started together, ended far apart
See the 2025 Norway ranking
Berit vs Else
In 1945 they stood at #7 and #15 in Norway · Girls, 8 places apart; by 2023 they were #494 and #178.
Berit · Else · 71 shared years, 1945–2023 · Started together, ended far apart
See the 2023 Norway ranking
Tove vs Else
In 1945 they stood at #19 and #15 in Norway · Girls, 4 places apart; by 2025 they were #489 and #191.
Tove · Else · 66 shared years, 1945–2025 · Started together, ended far apart
See the 2025 Norway ranking

Compared inside Norway lists

Pairs involving Else measured in Norway's own published lists — the registrar that recorded Else at its highest position.

Sofia vs Else
Over 57 shared years in Norway · Girls, Sofia rose about as far as Else fell — from #518 and #80 in 1968 to #13 and #191 in 2025.
Sofia · Else · 57 shared years, 1968–2025 · Mirrored each other
See the 2025 Norway ranking
Martine vs Else
Over 55 shared years in Norway · Girls, Martine rose about as far as Else fell — from #569 and #83 in 1967 to #124 and #191 in 2025.
Martine · Else · 55 shared years, 1967–2025 · Mirrored each other
See the 2025 Norway ranking
Else vs Kirsten
Else and Kirsten changed places 22 times in Norway · Girls between 1945 and 2025, ending at #191 and #510.
Else · Kirsten · 67 shared years, 1945–2025 · Repeatedly exchanged positions
See the 2025 Norway ranking

Norway overview→

Else was ranked #15 in Norway · Girls in 1945. These are the names immediately either side of it on that published list — a fact about the registrar's own output, not a similarity judgement.

Else and the names beside it

Two names in the same published list are measured on the same scale, in the same year, by the same registrar — so these are positions that genuinely passed each other, not a similarity judgement. Drawn from the 2,573 names with a recorded popularity standing (common, familiar, uncommon), so a name outside that set could have passed Else without appearing here.

Else moved ahead of

Karin Compare
In 2007 they stood at #446 and #430 in Norway · Girls; by 2008 that had become #440 and #560.
Bjørg Compare
In 2006 they stood at #516 and #471 in Norway · Girls; by 2007 that had become #446 and #549.
Berit Compare
In 2007 they stood at #446 and #443 in Norway · Girls; by 2008 that had become #440 and #541.
Marit Compare
In 2018 they stood at #289 and #262 in Norway · Girls; by 2019 that had become #264 and #358.

Moved ahead of Else

Olivia Compare
In 1996 they stood at #282 and #316 in Norway · Girls; by 1997 that had become #604 and #219.
Isabella Compare
In 1996 they stood at #282 and #331 in Norway · Girls; by 1997 that had become #604 and #264.
Ellinor Compare
In 1996 they stood at #282 and #306 in Norway · Girls; by 1997 that had become #604 and #283.
Hedvig Compare
In 1996 they stood at #282 and #284 in Norway · Girls; by 1997 that had become #604 and #345.

Moved the opposite way to Else

Ada Compare
Between 1945 and 2025 in Norway · Girls, Else went from #15 to #191 while Ada went from #229 to #18.
Alma Compare
Between 1945 and 2025 in Norway · Girls, Else went from #15 to #191 while Alma went from #293 to #8.
Elise Compare
Between 1945 and 2025 in Norway · Girls, Else went from #15 to #191 while Elise went from #223 to #63.
Ella Compare
Between 1945 and 2025 in Norway · Girls, Else went from #15 to #191 while Ella went from #137 to #4.

Moved the same way as Else

Anita Compare
Between 1945 and 2025 in Norway · Girls, Else went from #15 to #191 and Anita from #162 to #459.
Anne Compare
Between 1945 and 2025 in Norway · Girls, Else went from #15 to #191 and Anne from #1 to #159.
Åse Compare
Between 1945 and 2025 in Norway · Girls, Else went from #15 to #191 and Åse from #25 to #93.
Aud Compare
Between 1945 and 2025 in Norway · Girls, Else went from #15 to #191 and Aud from #13 to #427.

What's not yet available

Meaning
Origin
Pronunciation
Nicknames and spelling variants

Absence from this list does not mean the name isn't genuinely meaningful or widely used — only that Namewise hasn't sourced and reviewed that content yet. Absence from a specific year or geography above does not prove zero use there either; official statistics only publish names above a minimum threshold.

Official popularity data is available for 2 regions, from 1945 to 2025. Highest recorded position: #15 in Norway in 1946. Source data last verified 2026-07-25.

Else

Else at a glance

What stands out in Else's record

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Else across 2 official records

Else by decade in Norway · Girls

Else appears in

Popularity data

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1940s

Comparisons involving Else

Longest shared records

Compared inside Norway lists

Names published alongside Else

Else and the names beside it

Else moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Else

Moved the opposite way to Else

Moved the same way as Else

Else at a glance

What stands out in Else's record

Else across 2 official records

Else by decade in Norway · Girls

Else appears in

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1940s

Comparisons involving Else

Longest shared records

Compared inside Norway lists

Names published alongside Else

Else and the names beside it

Else moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Else

Moved the opposite way to Else

Moved the same way as Else