Elaijah
A masculine name of Hebrew origin meaning "the Lord is my God".
Name Census estimates that about 173 living Americans carry the first name Elaijah. It is a predominantly female name (97.1% of registrations). The average person named Elaijah today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Elaijah births was 2010 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Elaijah. 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.
People living today
173
~ 1 in 1,981,239 Americans
Peak year
2010
15 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2001 SSA rank
#11,078
Tracked since 1999
Gender
Gender distribution for Elaijah
Elaijah leans heavily female at 97.1% of total registrations, but 5 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Elaijah as a male name
- Ranked #11,078 in 2001
- 5 male births in 2001
- Peak: 2001 (5 births)
Elaijah as a female name
- Ranked #13,904 in 2023
- 6 female births in 2023
- Peak: 2010 (15 births)
Popularity
Elaijah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Elaijah from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 79 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Elaijah 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 Elaijah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Elaijah
The name Elaijah has its origins in Hebrew, being a combination of the elements "El" meaning "God" and "Yah" which is a shortened form of the divine name "Yahweh" or "Jehovah." This reflects its roots as a Hebrew name with religious significance.
The earliest recorded use of the name Elaijah dates back to the 9th century BCE, when it was borne by the biblical prophet Elijah. Known for his miracles and confrontations with the worshippers of Baal, Elijah is a revered figure in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
In the Old Testament, Elijah is portrayed as a fierce defender of the worship of the God of Israel, performing remarkable deeds such as bringing a dead child back to life and calling down fire from heaven. His story is recounted in the Books of Kings, and he is also mentioned in the New Testament.
Beyond the biblical Elijah, other notable historical figures with the name include Elijah Muhammad (1897-1975), the leader and prominent figure of the Nation of Islam movement in the United States. Elijah Lovejoy (1802-1837) was an American abolitionist who was killed for his anti-slavery views and activism.
In the realm of literature, Elijah Fenton (1683-1730) was an English poet and translator who is best known for his translation of the works of Homer and other classical authors. Elijah Muhammed (1480-1552) was a Turkish Ottoman poet and mystic who wrote extensively on Sufism and spiritual themes.
Elijah Anderson (born 1945) is an American sociologist and author known for his work on urban ethnography and the study of race relations in the United States. His contributions to the field of sociology have earned him numerous accolades and recognition.
People
Elaijah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Elaijah 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
Elaijah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Elaijah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 173 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Elaijah 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 1,981,239 US residents.
Is Elaijah a common name?
We classify Elaijah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 72.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 175 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Elaijah most popular?
The single biggest year for Elaijah was 2010, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Elaijah is about 16 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Elaijah a female name?
Yes, 97.1% of people registered as Elaijah 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.
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.