Eland
A masculine name derived from the Dutch word for "elk".
Name Census estimates that about 84 living Americans carry the first name Eland. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Eland today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Eland births was 2012 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Eland. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Eland. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
84
~ 1 in 4,080,409 Americans
Peak year
2012
10 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2022 SSA rank
#9,216
Tracked since 2004
Census
Eland in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 147 people with the first name Eland, which placed it at #45,869 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#45,869
National first-name rank
People counted
147
147 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
45.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Eland
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Eland is White at 45.6%. The next largest groups are Black (24.5%) and Hispanic (12.2%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Eland described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Eland at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White45.6% · 67
- Black or African American24.5% · 36
- Hispanic or Latino12.2% · 18
- Two or more races9.5% · 14
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.8% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native3.4% · 5
Popularity
Eland: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Eland from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 67 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
Eland 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 Eland 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 Eland
The name Eland is believed to have its origins in the Middle Dutch language, derived from the word "elant," which referred to the large African antelope species known as the eland. This connection suggests that the name may have initially been used as a nickname or descriptive term for someone with physical or personality traits akin to the majestic eland.
In the late 16th century, the Dutch explorer Jan van Riebeeck made note of encountering eland antelopes during his travels in South Africa. It is possible that the name Eland gained popularity in the Netherlands and surrounding regions around this time, inspired by the newfound knowledge of this impressive animal.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Eland was Eland van Heemstede, a Dutch nobleman who lived in the 14th century. He served as a knight and held significant landholdings in the region now known as North Holland.
In the 17th century, Eland Evertsz was a Dutch Golden Age painter known for his still-life works featuring intricate arrangements of flowers and fruits. He was born in 1588 and lived until around 1645.
Eland Janszoon Mostert was a Dutch explorer and navigator who played a crucial role in the early exploration of Australia's western coastline. He was born in 1681 and led several voyages in the first half of the 18th century.
Eland Boxhoorn was a Dutch philosopher and theologian who lived from 1652 to 1707. He was known for his writings on metaphysics and his involvement in the Cartesian philosophical movement.
In the 19th century, Eland Andersson was a Swedish explorer and naturalist who made significant contributions to the study of African wildlife and geography. He was born in 1806 and spent many years exploring various regions of southern Africa, collecting specimens and documenting his findings.
While the name Eland has its roots in the Dutch language, it has since spread to other cultures and regions, with variations in spelling and pronunciation. However, its connection to the majestic eland antelope remains a consistent thread throughout its history.
People
Eland + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Eland 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
Eland: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Eland?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 84 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Eland 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 Eland a common name?
We classify Eland 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, 85 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Eland most popular?
The single biggest year for Eland was 2012, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Eland is about 12 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Eland in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 147 people with the name Eland, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #45,869 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Eland in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Eland?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Eland leans strongly male. 126 people counted with this name were male (85.1%), compared with 22 female bearers (14.9%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Eland?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Eland is White at 45.6%. The next largest groups are Black (24.5%) and Hispanic (12.2%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Eland most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Eland in the 2020 Census, accounting for 45.6% (67 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Eland in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Eland a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Eland in the SSA data are male. 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 Eland still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Eland 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 Eland 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.
How many people are called Eland?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.