El
El is a name with a single cultural origin: Semitic Mythology.
- Semitic Mythology
Meaning & Origin of El
What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.
El is a name with a single cultural origin: Semitic Mythology.
Origin data from Behind the Name .
Cultural Origins (via Behind the Name)
- Semitic Mythology
The Story of El
As a girl name
American parents first put El on the record books as a girl name in 1928, with 7 registered babies. Its peak popularity came in 1928, when 7 Els were born — ranking #3,743 that year. About 55% of every El on record arrived during the 1930s, its defining decade. El last appeared in the published SSA data in 1947, with 5 recorded births — it has not charted nationally since. All told, over 38 Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1920s to the 2020s.
As a boy name
The earliest SSA record of El as a boy name dates back to 1915, when 8 babies received it. 2000 was its biggest year on record, with 11 newborns named El — #5,920 in the national rankings. El last appeared in the published SSA data in 2023, with 5 recorded births — it has not charted nationally since. All told, over 246 Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1910s to the 2020s.
Popularity Over Time
Popularity by State
Names that sound like El
Phonetically similar names — useful when El is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.
Frequently Asked Questions about El
What does the name El mean?
What is the origin of the name El?
How popular is El in 2026?
When was El most popular?
In which U.S. states is El most popular?
Is El a unisex name?
What names go well with El?
About the name El
El is a unisex baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1915 and has accumulated 246 births in the dataset. El's peak popularity came in 2000 when it ranked #5,920. Use the chart and map above to compare El's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.
Continue exploring
- Top names of 2000 →
- Names of the 2000s →
- Names starting with "E" →
- Browse all boy names →
- Top names of 2026 →
- Browse unisex names →
Data sources
- Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
- Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
- Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
- Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
- Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .
Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.