Holding steady.
Popularity of Itsel since 1993
Babies named Itsel per year in U.S. Social Security records.
Data table (by decade)
| Decade | Girls |
|---|---|
| 1990s | 100 |
| 2000s | 86 |
| 2010s | 11 |
| 2020s | 0 |
Meaning & origin
Itsel first appeared in U.S. birth records in 1993, a modern respelling of the more traditional Itzel. The name reached its peak year in 1994, though it has never entered the top 1000 nationally. Its usage remains stable and uncommon, appealing to parents drawn to short, melodic names with indigenous roots. The spelling Itsel may reflect a preference for simplified phonetics over the original Itzel. The name's meaning draws from Mesoamerican languages, though its exact derivation is debated among scholars.
Itsel is a modern spelling variant of Itzel, a name with dual attested roots in Mesoamerican languages. In Nahuatl, Itzel is associated with the word for 'rainbow,' while in Mayan it is linked to Ix Chel, the goddess of the moon and medicine. The form Itsel likely arose in the United States during the 1990s as a respelling influenced by phonetic spelling trends.
Nicknames & variants
Nicknames: Itzy, Itsy, Sel
Sibling names for Itsel
Names that share Itsel's style, for a brother or sister.
