Elchonon
A masculine name of Hebrew origin meaning "God is merciful".
Name Census estimates that about 342 living Americans carry the first name Elchonon. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Elchonon today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Elchonon births was 2024 (23 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Elchonon. 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 Elchonon with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
342
~ 1 in 1,002,206 Americans
Peak year
2024
23 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,449
Tracked since 1979
Census
Elchonon in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 278 people with the first name Elchonon, which placed it at #31,017 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
#31,017
National first-name rank
People counted
278
278 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
98.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Elchonon
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Elchonon is White at 98.2%. The next largest groups are Black (1.1%) and Hispanic (0.4%). 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 Elchonon 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 Elchonon at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White98.2% · 273
- Black or African American1.1% · 3
- Hispanic or Latino0.4% · 1
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 1
Popularity
Elchonon: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Elchonon from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 128 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Elchonon remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Elchonon 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 Elchonon during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Elchonons live
Origin
Meaning and history of Elchonon
The name Elchonon is a Hebrew name derived from the Biblical Hebrew name Elchanan, which means "God is gracious" or "God has been gracious." The name originated in ancient Israel and is first mentioned in the Bible, where it was borne by several minor figures.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Elchonon was Elchanan ben Avigdor, a renowned Jewish scholar and Kabbalist who lived in the 16th century. He was born in Safed, Palestine, in 1520 and is known for his works on Jewish mysticism and Kabbalah.
Another notable figure with the name Elchonon was Elchonon Bunim Wasserman, a prominent Lithuanian-Jewish rabbi and Rosh Yeshiva (head of a Talmudic academy) who lived from 1835 to 1937. He was a leading figure in the Musar movement, which focused on ethical and spiritual self-improvement.
In the 19th century, Elchonon Dessler was a renowned Jewish thinker and Mussar philosopher. He was born in 1808 in Vitebsk, Belarus, and is best known for his works on Jewish ethics and personal growth.
Another significant figure with the name Elchonon was Elchonon Halevi Carlebach, a renowned Hasidic rabbi and leader who lived from 1823 to 1900. He was born in Lubartów, Poland, and served as the Rebbe (spiritual leader) of the Carlebach Hasidic dynasty.
In more recent history, Elchonon Wasserman was a renowned Lithuanian-Jewish rabbi and Rosh Yeshiva who lived from 1874 to 1941. He was a leading figure in the Lithuanian Jewish community and played a crucial role in preserving Jewish education and tradition during the Holocaust.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who bore the name Elchonon throughout history. The name has a rich heritage and holds significant importance in Jewish tradition and culture.
People
Elchonon + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Elchonon 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
Elchonon: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Elchonon?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 342 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Elchonon 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 1,002,206 US residents.
Is Elchonon a common name?
We classify Elchonon as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 346 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Elchonon most popular?
The single biggest year for Elchonon was 2024, when 23 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Elchonon is about 16 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Elchonon in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 278 people with the name Elchonon, or 0.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #31,017 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 Elchonon 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 Elchonon?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Elchonon appears almost entirely male. Of the 274 people counted with this name, 100.0% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Elchonon?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Elchonon is White at 98.2%. The next largest groups are Black (1.1%) and Hispanic (0.4%). 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 Elchonon most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Elchonon in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.2% (273 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 Elchonon in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Elchonon a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Elchonon 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 Elchonon still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Elchonon 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 Elchonon 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 have Elchonon as a first name?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.