# Heloise (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/heloise/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | girls |
| Origin | French |
| Meaning | “-ess: feminizing nouns”, “to pick”, “to choose from”, “-y: forming adjectives and names”, “holy”, “whole”, “healthful”, “wood” |
| Pronunciation | /hɛləʊˈiːz/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | Heloïse, Eloise, Elois |
| US babies named this | 705 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 0 / 705 (100% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 230, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From Medieval Latin Heloisa under influence from French Héloïse, probably from French Éloi + -se (“-ess: feminizing nouns”), from Medieval Latin Eligius, chiefly after Saint Eligius, from Latin ēligere (“to pick, to choose from”) + -ius (“-y: forming adjectives and names”). Sometimes alternatively derived from Proto-Germanic reconstructed as *Hailawidiz, from *hailagaz (“holy”) or *hailaz (“whole, healthful”) and *widuz (“wood, forest”). As an English name, chiefly after Peter Abelard's beloved nun Heloise. Doublet of Eloise.

## What it means

Heloise is grouped under forest and holy.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 5 | 17,997 |
| 2011 | 8 | 12,593 |
| 2013 | 8 | 12,419 |
| 2014 | 7 | 13,599 |
| 2015 | 11 | 9,722 |
| 2016 | 10 | 10,371 |
| 2017 | 10 | 10,237 |
| 2018 | 6 | 14,473 |
| 2019 | 7 | 12,955 |
| 2020 | 6 | 14,085 |
| 2021 | 11 | 9,191 |
| 2022 | 12 | 8,730 |
| 2023 | 15 | 7,395 |
| 2024 | 8 | 11,489 |
| 2025 | 18 | 6,408 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 9 | 2,636 |
| 2012 | 9 | 2,717 |
| 2013 | 10 | 2,460 |
| 2014 | 3 | 5,691 |
| 2015 | 13 | 2,070 |
| 2016 | 10 | 2,547 |
| 2017 | 6 | 3,583 |
| 2018 | 5 | 3,985 |
| 2019 | 12 | 2,170 |
| 2020 | 5 | 3,899 |
| 2021 | 5 | 3,961 |
| 2022 | 4 | 4,645 |
| 2023 | 6 | 3,598 |
| 2024 | 5 | 4,192 |
| 2025 | 8 | 3,035 |

## In other languages

- Esperanto: Eloiza
- French: Éloïse, Héloïse
- Italian: Eloisa
- Latin: Heloisa
- Portuguese: Eloísa, Heloísa
- Spanish: Eloisa

## People named Heloise

- Héloïse d’Argenteuil, 12th-century French nun, philosopher and writer
- Héloïse Colin, French draughtsperson, illustrator and painter (1820-1874)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.