Ailsa
- Gender
- Girl
- Say it
- AYL-sa
- Origin
- Scottish
- UK rank, 2025
- #836 for girls
- Style
- Big in Scotland
Ailsa is a girls' name of Scottish origin. In 2025 it ranked 836th for girls in the UK (46 babies).
What does Ailsa mean?
Scottish: from the island of Ailsa Craig
Taken from Ailsa Craig, a rocky island in the Firth of Clyde famous for its curling-stone granite.
Is Ailsa a girl's or a boy's name?
Ailsa is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 46 girls in the UK. Too few boys were given it to be listed.
How popular is Ailsa in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- 836th among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 46 about 1 in 6,100 girls
- Five-year trend
- Steady down 17% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 46 girls in the UK were named Ailsa, making it the 836th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 1,033rd. Its busiest year was 1999, with 84 girls.
Half of all the girls named Ailsa in the UK since 1996 were born between 2002 and 2016. It was already well used in 1996, when the records begin, so earlier girls aren't counted.
Among girls in 2025, it was 1,892nd in England and Wales and 140th in Scotland.
Ailsa in the UK, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 46 | #836 |
| 2024 | 44 | #887 |
| 2023 | 44 | #875 |
| 2022 | 41 | #920 |
| 2021 | 63 | #668 |
| 2020 | 35 | #1,033 |
| 2019 | 65 | #651 |
| 2018 | 61 | #714 |
| 2017 | 43 | #947 |
| 2016 | 68 | #672 |
| 2015 | 63 | #692 |
| 2014 | 78 | #592 |
| 2013 | 64 | #686 |
| 2012 | 69 | #660 |
| 2011 | 60 | #714 |
| 2010 | 58 | #696 |
| 2009 | 59 | #687 |
| 2008 | 49 | #773 |
| 2007 | 65 | #607 |
| 2006 | 59 | #623 |
| 2005 | 62 | #581 |
| 2004 | 53 | #628 |
| 2003 | 46 | #675 |
| 2002 | 66 | #501 |
| 2001 | 73 | #461 |
| 2000 | 61 | #523 |
| 1999 | 84 | #416 |
| 1998 | 74 | #456 |
| 1997 | 83 | #432 |
| 1996 | 74 | #449 |
How popular is Ailsa in the US?
No girls in the US were given it in 2025, or too few to be listed. Its busiest year was 2003, with 19 girls. It first appears in the records in 1918.
Half of all the girls named Ailsa in the US since 1880 were born between 1987 and 2010, the years shaded on the chart below.
Ailsa in the US, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 5 | #15,288 |
| 2023 | 5 | #15,188 |
| 2022 | 0 | – |
| 2021 | 10 | #9,557 |
| 2020 | 5 | #15,083 |
| 2019 | 6 | #13,793 |
| 2018 | 14 | #7,758 |
| 2017 | 9 | #10,685 |
| 2016 | 12 | #8,872 |
| 2015 | 9 | #10,861 |
| 2014 | 11 | #9,512 |
| 2013 | 15 | #7,744 |
| 2012 | 14 | #8,204 |
| 2011 | 12 | #9,146 |
| 2010 | 19 | #6,638 |
| 2009 | 12 | #9,375 |
| 2008 | 12 | #9,472 |
| 2007 | 13 | #9,003 |
| 2006 | 5 | #17,163 |
| 2005 | 16 | #7,133 |
| 2004 | 12 | #8,711 |
| 2003 | 19 | #6,050 |
| 2002 | 12 | #8,274 |
| 2001 | 14 | #7,311 |
| 2000 | 8 | #10,738 |
| 1999 | 15 | #6,478 |
| 1998 | 14 | #6,714 |
| 1997 | 11 | #7,737 |
| 1996 | 11 | #7,569 |
| 1995 | 10 | #8,074 |
| 1994 | 8 | #9,580 |
| 1993 | 11 | #7,491 |
| 1992 | 12 | #7,060 |
| 1991 | 9 | #8,580 |
| 1990 | 11 | #7,297 |
| 1989 | 6 | #10,841 |
| 1988 | 9 | #7,686 |
| 1987 | 10 | #6,783 |
| 1986 | 10 | #6,609 |
| 1985 | 0 | – |
| 1984 | 0 | – |
| 1983 | 0 | – |
| 1982 | 5 | #10,514 |
| 1981 | 0 | – |
| 1980 | 5 | #10,390 |
| 1979 | 7 | #8,059 |
| 1978 | 13 | #4,931 |
| 1977 | 8 | #6,890 |
| 1976 | 0 | – |
| 1975 | 8 | #6,482 |
| 1974 | 7 | #6,898 |
| 1973 | 11 | #4,869 |
| 1972 | 6 | #7,290 |
| 1971 | 12 | #4,532 |
| 1970 | 8 | #5,817 |
| 1969 | 0 | – |
| 1968 | 0 | – |
| 1967 | 6 | #6,041 |
| 1966 | 0 | – |
| 1965 | 0 | – |
| 1964 | 0 | – |
| 1963 | 0 | – |
| 1962 | 0 | – |
| 1961 | 0 | – |
| 1960 | 0 | – |
| 1959 | 0 | – |
| 1958 | 0 | – |
| 1957 | 0 | – |
| 1956 | 0 | – |
| 1955 | 0 | – |
| 1954 | 0 | – |
| 1953 | 0 | – |
| 1952 | 0 | – |
| 1951 | 0 | – |
| 1950 | 0 | – |
| 1949 | 0 | – |
| 1948 | 0 | – |
| 1947 | 0 | – |
| 1946 | 0 | – |
| 1945 | 0 | – |
| 1944 | 0 | – |
| 1943 | 0 | – |
| 1942 | 0 | – |
| 1941 | 0 | – |
| 1940 | 0 | – |
| 1939 | 0 | – |
| 1938 | 0 | – |
| 1937 | 0 | – |
| 1936 | 0 | – |
| 1935 | 0 | – |
| 1934 | 0 | – |
| 1933 | 0 | – |
| 1932 | 0 | – |
| 1931 | 0 | – |
| 1930 | 0 | – |
| 1929 | 0 | – |
| 1928 | 0 | – |
| 1927 | 0 | – |
| 1926 | 10 | #3,045 |
| 1925 | 0 | – |
| 1924 | 0 | – |
| 1923 | 0 | – |
| 1922 | 6 | #4,443 |
| 1921 | 0 | – |
| 1920 | 5 | #4,973 |
| 1919 | 0 | – |
| 1918 | 5 | #4,807 |
Names like Ailsa
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Safa, Aysha, Hiba, Hafsa, Faiza, Zaira, Rahma, Huda, Salma, Amira, Zainab, Aaliyah
Names related to Ailsa
More Scottish names
Isla, Finley, Logan, Arabella, Cameron, Bonnie, Paisley, Brody, Carson, Maxwell, Brodie, Finlay, Blair, Lennox, Skye, Knox
Sources
Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Ailsa: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/ailsa, updated 20 October 2026.