Boy · #8 in 2026

Elijah

Name: Popularity of the name Elijah in U.S. births, 1880–2026
Creator: U.S. Social Security Administration
License: https://www.ssa.gov/foia/
Keywords: Elijah, baby name, popularity, U.S., SSA, rankings

Elijah is a masculine given name after the prophet Elijah in the Hebrew Bible. Elijah was among the five most popular names for Black newborn boys in the American state of Virginia in 2022 and again in 2023. In 2022, it was the 37th-most popular name given to boys in Canada.

English
Hebrew
Biblical

Current Rank

Peak Rank

#4 (2011)

Total Babies

391K

5-Yr Trend

-15%

1926

First Year

2026

Last Year

2004

Peak Year

#2264

Peak Rank

Total Count

Years Active

Meaning & Origin of Elijah

What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →

Cultural Origins (via Behind the Name)

English
Hebrew
Biblical

The Story of Elijah

Elijah first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby boy name in 1880, with 100 babies given the name that year. Its peak popularity came in 2011, when 13,997 Elijahs were born — ranking #13 that year. As of 2026, Elijah ranks #8 for baby boys with 10,662 births, gradually falling (-15%). In total, more than 391K Elijahs have been born in the U.S. since records began in 1880, spanning the 1880s through the 2020s.

Popularity Over Time

Popularity by State

Top 10

11-50

51-100

101-500

500+

No data

Variants & Related Forms of Elijah

Foreign forms, alternate spellings, and nicknames that share roots with Elijah. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.

Where is Elijah most common?

Predicted country distribution based on naming patterns globally.

Nigeria
43%
GH
18%
Kenya
15%
NE
14%
UG
10%

Source: Nationalize.io . Probabilities are global naming-pattern estimates, not strict counts.

Names that sound like Elijah

Phonetically similar names — useful when Elijah is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.

Elija
Alija
Ilija
Elegia
Elegy
Elisha
Elogy
Elegie
Elishah
Ellijay
Alicia
Elia

Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.

Frequently Asked Questions about Elijah

What does the name Elijah mean?

What is the origin of the name Elijah?

Elijah has roots in the following cultural and linguistic traditions: English, Hebrew, Biblical.

How popular is Elijah in 2026?

In 2026, Elijah ranks #8 among boys' names in the U.S., with 10,662 babies given the name that year.

When was Elijah most popular?

Elijah reached its peak popularity in 2011, ranking #4 that year with 13,997 babies given the name.

In which U.S. states is Elijah most popular?

Elijah has historically been most popular in Arkansas, Hawaii, Indiana. Rankings vary year to year, but these states show the strongest concentration of births named Elijah.

Is Elijah a unisex name?

In U.S. Social Security records, Elijah is primarily a boy's name. We don't have meaningful data for it as a girl's name.

What names go well with Elijah?

Names that share a similar style or popularity range with Elijah include Charles, George, Theodore. These pairings are based on rank proximity and naming era in U.S. data.

What are nicknames or variants of Elijah?

Common variants and related forms of Elijah include Alijah, Eli, Eliah, Eliya, Eliyahu. These cover foreign-language equivalents, alternate spellings, and short forms.

About the name Elijah

Elijah is a boy baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1880 and has accumulated 391K births in the dataset. Elijah's peak popularity came in 2011 when it ranked #4. Use the chart and map above to compare Elijah's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.

Continue exploring

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.