Elaf
A name of Arabic origin meaning "a thousand" or "friendly companionship".
Name Census estimates that about 169 living Americans carry the first name Elaf. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Elaf today is around 7 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Elaf births was 2024 (24 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Elaf. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Elaf with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
169
~ 1 in 2,028,132 Americans
Peak year
2024
24 babies that year
Average age
7
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,327
Tracked since 2009
Popularity
Elaf: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Elaf from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 84 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Elaf by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Elaf during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Elafs live
Origin
Meaning and history of Elaf
The name Elaf is of Arabic origin, derived from the Arabic word "alif" which refers to the first letter of the Arabic alphabet. It is believed to have emerged as a personal name during the medieval period in the Middle East and North Africa.
The earliest recorded use of the name Elaf can be traced back to the 9th century CE, where it was mentioned in various Arabic literary works and historical records. One notable reference is found in the works of the renowned Arab poet and scholar, Al-Mutanabbi (915-965 CE), who composed poems praising individuals with the name Elaf.
In the 12th century, the name gained prominence with the birth of Elaf ibn Qudamah (1147-1223 CE), a prominent Islamic scholar and jurist from Damascus. Elaf ibn Qudamah wrote extensively on Islamic jurisprudence and his works were widely studied and referenced by scholars across the Islamic world.
During the 14th century, the name Elaf was associated with Elaf al-Dimashqi (1305-1380 CE), a Syrian historian and traveler who authored several books on the geography and history of the Levant region. His work, "The Meadows of Gold and Mines of Gems," is considered a valuable source of information on the cultural and political landscape of the medieval Islamic world.
In the 16th century, Elaf al-Khazraji (1510-1578 CE) was a renowned poet and calligrapher from Baghdad. His poetic works, which often celebrated the beauty of Arabic calligraphy, were widely appreciated and studied by scholars and artists of his time.
Another notable figure with the name Elaf was Elaf ibn Yahya (1670-1744 CE), a Moroccan scholar and theologian who made significant contributions to the study of Islamic theology and jurisprudence. His works, which aimed to reconcile various schools of Islamic thought, were widely read and debated across the Muslim world.
While the name Elaf has historical roots in the Arab and Islamic world, it has also been adopted by various cultures and communities in different regions over time. However, its origins and earliest recorded usages can be traced back to the medieval period in the Middle East and North Africa.
People
Elaf + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Elaf as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with E
Other first names starting with E with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Elaf: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Elaf?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 169 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Elaf going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 2,028,132 US residents.
Is Elaf a common name?
We classify Elaf as "Very Rare". It ranks above 72% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 170 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Elaf most popular?
The single biggest year for Elaf was 2024, when 24 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Elaf is about 7 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Elaf in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Elaf a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Elaf in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Elaf still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Elaf in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Elaf can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have the name Elaf?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.