Eleazar
A Hebrew name meaning "God has helped" or "helper of God".
Name Census estimates that about 5,546 living Americans carry the first name Eleazar. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Eleazar today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Eleazar births was 2023 (195 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Eleazar. 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
5.5K
~ 1 in 61,802 Americans
Peak year
2023
195 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,148
Tracked since 1919
Gender
Gender distribution for Eleazar
Out of the 5,967 babies given the name Eleazar since 1880, 99.9% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Eleazar as a male name
- Ranked #1,148 in 2024
- 182 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2023 (195 births)
Eleazar as a female name
- Ranked #10,922 in 1993
- 7 female births in 1993
- Peak: 1993 (7 births)
Popularity
Eleazar: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Eleazar from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 1,242 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Eleazar remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Eleazar 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 Eleazar during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Eleazars live
The SSA's state-level files cover 19 states and territories. Texas, California, Florida recorded the most babies named Eleazar, while Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Nevada recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 215 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Eleazar
The given name Eleazar has its origins in the Hebrew language. It is an ancient name that dates back to biblical times. The name is derived from the Hebrew elements "el" meaning "God" and "azar" meaning "helper" or "protector". Therefore, the name Eleazar essentially translates to "God has helped" or "God is the helper".
The name Eleazar appears several times in the Hebrew Bible, also known as the Old Testament. One of the most notable figures with this name was Eleazar, the son of Aaron. He was one of the leaders of the Israelites and a High Priest who succeeded his father in this role. He is mentioned in the books of Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers.
Another biblical figure named Eleazar was the son of Aminadab. He was a leader from the tribe of Judah, who assisted in dividing the land of Canaan among the Israelites after the conquest, as recorded in the Book of Joshua.
Outside of the biblical context, one of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Eleazar was Eleazar ben Judah of Worms, a prominent Jewish scholar and liturgical poet who lived in the 12th century CE. He is renowned for composing many piyyutim (religious poems) and contributing to the development of Jewish liturgy.
In the 16th century, there was Eleazar Rokeach, a renowned rabbi and Talmudic scholar from Prague. He authored several influential works, including the Sefer ha-Rokeach, a comprehensive commentary on Jewish law and customs.
Moving forward in history, Eleazar Williams was a notable figure in the 19th century. Born in 1788, he claimed to be a descendant of the Lost Tribes of Israel and played a significant role in the early history of the Latter Day Saint movement.
Another prominent individual named Eleazar was Eleazar Lipsky, a Russian-born American Zionist leader and lawyer who lived from 1888 to 1980. He played a crucial role in the establishment of the State of Israel and served as the chairman of the American Zionist Emergency Council.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who have borne the name Eleazar, a name with deep roots in the Hebrew language and biblical tradition, carrying the meaning of "God is the helper" or "God has helped".
People
Eleazar + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Eleazar 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
Eleazar: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Eleazar?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5,546 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Eleazar 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 61,802 US residents.
Is Eleazar a common name?
We classify Eleazar as "Rare". It ranks above 96.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5,967 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Eleazar most popular?
The single biggest year for Eleazar was 2023, when 195 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Eleazar is about 26 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Eleazar a male name?
Yes, 99.9% of people registered as Eleazar 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.
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.