Else vs Elston

Babies given each name, 1880–2025

Else Elston

Each line is every baby given the name that year, girls and boys added together — the only count that means the same thing for both names. A line breaks where the name fell below five babies in a year — the point at which the SSA stops publishing it — rather than being drawn through a figure nobody published. A single published year in a gap shows as a dot.

Who was ahead

Of the 117 years in which either name was published, Elston for 82 years and Else for 35 years. The lead changed hands 17 times.

• 1884–1907 Else ahead
• 1911–1931 Elston ahead, apart from 2 short spells
• 1932–1937 Else ahead
• 1938–1998 Elston ahead, apart from one short spell
• 1999–2002 Else ahead
• 2007–2010 Elston ahead
• 2011–2013 Else ahead
• 2014–2025 Elston ahead, apart from one short spell

6 shorter spells of a year or two are folded into the spans above rather than listed separately.

Side by side

A rank is a position within one sex’s list for one year, so the two rank rows are not subtracted from one another and the winning column is not marked on them. The living figure is a life-table estimate, not a count.

Which name is older

Half of the Elstons alive today are over 57; half the Elses are over 23. That is 34 years between them: two names in use at the same time, worn by two different generations.

Compare something else

Related comparisons

• Else vs Elsie
• Else vs Elsa
• Else vs Elsy
• Else vs Elson
• Else vs Elspeth
• Elston vs Elsie
• Elston vs Elsa
• Elston vs Elsy