Elda
A feminine name derived from the Old English word "eld" meaning "age" or "old."
Name Census estimates that about 2,636 living Americans carry the first name Elda. It is a predominantly female name (99.5% of registrations). The average person named Elda today is around 54 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Elda births was 1916 (255 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Elda. 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 Elda with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
2.6K
~ 1 in 130,028 Americans
Peak year
1916
255 babies that year
Average age
54
years old
1931 SSA rank
#3,934
Tracked since 1880
Census
Elda in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 8,579 people with the first name Elda, which placed it at #2,730 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
#2,730
National first-name rank
People counted
8.6K
8,579 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
2.8
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
73.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Elda
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Elda is Hispanic at 73.3%. The next largest groups are White (20.3%) and Black (4.3%). 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 Elda 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 Elda at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino73.3% · 6,289
- White20.3% · 1,742
- Black or African American4.3% · 366
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 115
- Two or more races0.5% · 40
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 27
Gender
Gender distribution for Elda
Out of the 8,992 babies given the name Elda since 1880, 99.5% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Elda as a male name
- Ranked #3,934 in 1931
- 5 male births in 1931
- Peak: 1912 (6 births)
Elda as a female name
- Ranked #6,435 in 2024
- 18 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1916 (250 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Elda appears almost entirely female. Of the 8,580 people counted with this name, 99.3% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Elda: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Elda from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 1,955 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Elda 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 Elda during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Eldas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 32 states and territories. Texas, Pennsylvania, California recorded the most babies named Elda, while Washington, North Carolina, Florida recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 154 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Elda
The name Elda originates from the Old Norse language, spoken by the Germanic tribes that inhabited Scandinavia during the Viking Age (793-1066 CE). It is derived from the Old Norse word "eld," which means "fire" or "flame." The name was likely given to children with a fiery spirit or born during a time of great significance, such as a celestial event or a momentous victory in battle.
In Norse mythology, Elda is mentioned as one of the handmaidens of the goddess Frigg, the wife of Odin and the goddess of marriage and motherhood. This connection suggests that the name may have been associated with fertility, nurturing, and domestic virtues in ancient Scandinavian culture.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Elda dates back to the 9th century, when it appears in the Icelandic Landnámabók (Book of Settlements), a historical account of the Norse settlers who colonized Iceland in the late 9th and early 10th centuries. This suggests that the name was already in use among the Norse people before their expansion to Iceland.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Elda. One of the earliest was Elda of Deira (c. 590-633 CE), an Anglo-Saxon princess and abbess who founded the monastery of Hartlepool in present-day England. Another historical figure was Elda of Whitby (c. 614-680 CE), a Northumbrian nun and scholar who played a significant role in the Synod of Whitby, a crucial event in the history of the Christian church in England.
In the 11th century, Elda the Fair (c. 1010-1070 CE) was a Norwegian noblewoman and the daughter of Håkon Eiriksson, the Earl of Norway. She is mentioned in the Icelandic Sagas as a woman of great beauty and intelligence.
During the 13th century, Elda of Wetzlar (c. 1220-1284 CE) was a German mystic and Beguine who wrote several influential works on spirituality and the contemplative life.
In more recent times, Elda Lattanzio (1907-1989) was an Italian painter and sculptor known for her abstract and figurative works, which often explored themes of motherhood and femininity.
While the name Elda was once more prevalent in Scandinavia and parts of Europe, it has become less common in modern times. However, its rich historical roots and connections to ancient Norse culture and mythology continue to make it a unique and intriguing name choice.
People
Elda + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Elda 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
Elda: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Elda?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,636 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Elda 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 130,028 US residents.
Is Elda a common name?
We classify Elda as "Rare". It ranks above 94.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 8,992 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Elda most popular?
The single biggest year for Elda was 1916, when 255 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Elda is about 54 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Elda in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 8,579 people with the name Elda, or 2.84 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,730 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 Elda 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 Elda?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Elda appears almost entirely female. Of the 8,580 people counted with this name, 99.3% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Elda?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Elda is Hispanic at 73.3%. The next largest groups are White (20.3%) and Black (4.3%). 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 Elda most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Elda in the 2020 Census, accounting for 73.3% (6,289 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 Elda in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Elda a female name?
Yes, 99.5% of people registered as Elda 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 Elda still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Elda 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 Elda 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 common is the name Elda?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.