Elsa

Elsa is a nickname of Elizabeth or Elisabeth, and it is a very international name, found in a multitude of countries, from Sweden to Italy to Germany. Elsa is a character in Wagner's Lohengrin, and Elsa is a famous lioness written about in Joy Adamson's Born Free, which was also made into a popular movie. Actress Elsa Lanchester was famous for her role in Bride of Frankenstein, and Elsa is one of the most sympathetic characters in Helen Hooven Santmyer's ...And Ladies of the Club (which is one of my favorite books ever.) Elsa was a reasonbly common name in the U.S. in the first couple of decades of the 1900's, but hasn't managed to find a place in the top 500 since then. Personally, I really like this name and would like to see it make a strong comeback, but the association with Elsa the lioness might still be too strong for many new parents.