Elahi
A masculine Arabic name meaning "my God" or "divine".
Name Census estimates that about 84 living Americans carry the first name Elahi. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Elahi today is around 4 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Elahi births was 2024 (25 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Elahi. 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 Elahi with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Elahi. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
84
~ 1 in 4,080,409 Americans
Peak year
2024
25 babies that year
Average age
4
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,174
Tracked since 2019
Popularity
Elahi: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Elahi from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 79 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
Elahi 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 Elahi during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Elahis live
Origin
Meaning and history of Elahi
The given name Elahi has its origins in the Arabic language and is derived from the word "Ilah," which means "God" or "deity." The name is closely associated with Islamic culture and is believed to have been in use since the early days of Islam, around the 7th century CE.
The name Elahi is found in various religious texts and scriptures, including the Quran and hadith literature. It is often used as one of the names or attributes of God, emphasizing the divine and supreme nature of the Almighty. In this context, the name Elahi is a way of expressing reverence and devotion to the divine power.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Elahi can be found in the works of renowned Islamic scholars and poets from the medieval period. For example, the 11th-century Persian poet and philosopher, Hakim Sanai (born around 1080 CE), wrote extensively about the concept of Elahi and its spiritual significance.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Elahi. One of the most prominent is Elahi Bukhari (1552-1624 CE), a renowned Sufi scholar and poet from present-day Afghanistan. His literary works, particularly his poetry collection "Kashkul," are widely celebrated in the Islamic world.
Another famous bearer of the name is Elahi Bakhsh Zahiri (1810-1880 CE), an Indian scholar and linguist who made significant contributions to the study of Arabic and Persian languages. He is particularly known for his work on the grammar and lexicography of these languages.
In the realm of music, Elahi Baksh Arif (1924-1995 CE) was a celebrated Pakistani classical singer and composer. He was widely acclaimed for his mastery of the khayal and thumri genres and received numerous awards and accolades for his contributions to the world of music.
Elahi Ghulam Hussain (1896-1983 CE), an Indian philosopher and scholar, is also noteworthy for his work on Islamic metaphysics and the concept of the self. His book "The Metaphysics of the Self" is considered a seminal work in the field of Islamic philosophy.
The name Elahi has been a popular choice for Muslim families throughout history, reflecting their reverence for the divine and their desire to instill spiritual values in their children. While the name has its roots in Islamic culture, it has also been adopted by people of various faiths and backgrounds who appreciate its profound meaning and historical significance.
People
Elahi + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Elahi 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
Elahi: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Elahi?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 84 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Elahi 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 4,080,409 US residents.
Is Elahi a common name?
We classify Elahi as "Very Rare". It ranks above 62% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 84 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Elahi most popular?
The single biggest year for Elahi was 2024, when 25 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Elahi is about 4 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 Elahi in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Elahi a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Elahi 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 Elahi still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Elahi 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 Elahi 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 Americans are named Elahi?
See how many people have the name Elahi on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.