Elise is French in origin specifically meaning pledged to God.
She’s traditionally a shortened variant of Elizabeth, an ancient name of Hebrew roots also meaning pledged to God. She would later become a self-contained name around the end of the 19th century.
Among the French and English speakers, Elise is pronounced without the accent on the first syllable. In Scandinavian and Germanic languages, Elise is mentioned with three syllables.
Having been in use for well over 140 years, Elise has never achieved the top hundred status. But as the years roll on, she has started to show promise. Just recently she edged onto the American’s top 200 list of most favored names for little girls.
Elise is simple and pretty modern. She reminds of other elegant names anglicized from Elizabeth such as Lise, Elsa, Lisette and Babette.