Elgan
A masculine given name of Welsh origin meaning "generous from birth".
Name Census estimates that about 0 living Americans carry the first name Elgan. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Elgan today is around 0 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Elgan births was 1916 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Elgan. 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 Elgan with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Elgan. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
0
~ - Americans
Peak year
1916
7 babies that year
Average age
-
1918 SSA rank
#4,353
Tracked since 1916
Popularity
Elgan: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Elgan 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 Elgan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1910s | 12 | 0 | 12 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Elgan
The given name Elgan has its origins in the Welsh language and culture. It is derived from the Welsh word "elgan," which means "little or young hero." This name was popular in Wales during the medieval period, particularly among the Celtic Britons who inhabited the region.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Elgan can be traced back to the 6th century. Saint Elgan, also known as Eilgan or Ylgan, was a Welsh prince and hermit who lived in the late 6th century. He is revered as a saint in the Christian tradition and is remembered for his piety and devotion to spiritual pursuits.
In the 9th century, an Elgan ap Gwynog was mentioned in the Welsh genealogies as a descendant of the royal line of Powys, an ancient Welsh kingdom. This suggests that the name was associated with nobility and royalty during that time.
Elgan ap Rhiwallon, a 12th-century Welsh warrior and nobleman, is another notable figure who bore this name. He played a significant role in the conflicts between the Welsh princes and the Norman invaders during the Norman conquest of Wales.
During the Middle Ages, the name Elgan also appeared in various Welsh literary works and manuscripts, including the "Black Book of Carmarthen," a 13th-century Welsh manuscript containing some of the earliest known examples of Welsh poetry.
In more recent times, Elgan Lewis (1888-1976) was a notable Welsh novelist, poet, and playwright. He was a prominent figure in the Welsh literary scene and contributed significantly to the preservation and promotion of the Welsh language and culture.
Another notable individual with the name Elgan was Elgan Vaughan-Pryce-Jones (1913-2000), a Welsh politician and former Member of Parliament for the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom. He served in the House of Commons from 1959 to 1983.
Throughout its long history, the name Elgan has maintained a strong connection to Welsh heritage and culture, reflecting the valor, nobility, and literary traditions of the Welsh people.
People
Elgan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Elgan 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
Elgan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Elgan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 0 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Elgan 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 - US residents.
Is Elgan a common name?
We classify Elgan as "Very Rare". It ranks above 2.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 12 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Elgan most popular?
The single biggest year for Elgan was 1916, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Elgan is about 0 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Elgan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Elgan a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Elgan 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 Elgan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Elgan 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 Elgan 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How common is the name Elgan?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people share the name Elgan at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.