The first name Heloise
A girl’s name from French meaning “-ess: feminizing nouns”, “to pick”, “to choose from”.
Pronounced /hɛləʊˈiːz/ 2 syllables Female
Meaning and origin
French origin
Heloise means “-ess: feminizing nouns”, “to pick”, “to choose from” in French.
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.
More names that mean forest, holy.
From Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Popularity
Babies registered in England and Wales, 1996–2025
In 2025, 8 girls were named Heloise, making it the 3,035th most popular girls’ name. It peaked in 1996, with 14 births (#1,296).
Office for National Statistics; years with fewer than three births are not published and show as zero. Compare Heloise with other names.
Popularity in the United States
Babies named Heloise at birth, 1880–2025
In 2025, 18 girls born in the United States were named Heloise, the 6,408th most popular girls’ name that year. It was used most in 1915, when 24 were.
US Social Security Administration, from applications for a Social Security card. A name is only published for a year when at least five babies were given it, so quieter years show as zero.
Heloise in other languages
Equivalent forms of the name, from Wiktionary
Nicknames and spellings
Famous people named Heloise
2 on Wikidata, most written-about first
- Héloïse d’Argenteuil12th-century French nun, philosopher and writer, 1101–1164
- Héloïse ColinFrench draughtsperson, illustrator and painter (1820-1874)
More French girls’ names
Questions
- What does the name Heloise mean?
- Heloise means “-ess: feminizing nouns”, “to pick”, “to choose from” in French.
- What is the origin of the name Heloise?
- 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…
- How popular is the name Heloise?
- In 2025, 8 girls born in England and Wales were named Heloise, ranking 3,035th. Its peak was 1996, with 14 births.
- Is Heloise a boy's or a girl's name?
- Mostly a girl's name: 100% of the 705 US babies named Heloise since 1880 were girls.
- When was Heloise most popular?
- 1915 in the United States, when 24 babies were named Heloise, its highest rank at 1,494th.
- How do you pronounce Heloise?
- Heloise is /hɛləʊˈiːz/, 2 syllables.
- What are other spellings of Heloise?
- Heloïse, Eloise and Elois.