Elida
Feminine form of Elijah, a Hebrew name meaning "the Lord is my God".
Name Census estimates that about 4,743 living Americans carry the first name Elida. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Elida today is around 49 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Elida births was 1946 (141 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Elida. 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 Elida with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
4.7K
~ 1 in 72,265 Americans
Peak year
1946
141 babies that year
Average age
49
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,043
Tracked since 1886
Census
Elida in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 11,577 people with the first name Elida, which placed it at #2,251 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
#2,251
National first-name rank
People counted
12K
11,577 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
3.8
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
92.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Elida
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Elida is Hispanic at 92.9%. The next largest groups are White (5.5%) and Black (0.9%). 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 Elida 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 Elida at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino92.9% · 10,757
- White5.5% · 634
- Black or African American0.9% · 103
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 36
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 24
- Two or more races0.2% · 23
Popularity
Elida: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Elida from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1940s, with 1,149 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1940s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Elida 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 Elida during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Elidas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 8 states and territories. Texas, California, Illinois recorded the most babies named Elida, while Arizona, Michigan, Georgia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 726 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Elida
The given name Elida is derived from the Greek name Aelidas, which was a masculine form composed of the elements "aello" meaning "whirlwind" or "storm wind" and "idios" meaning "own" or "personal." The name Aelidas was likely intended to convey a sense of personal strength or intensity, akin to a powerful wind or storm.
The earliest known use of the feminine form Elida can be traced back to ancient Greece, where it was occasionally bestowed upon female children, though its popularity remained relatively limited. In the Byzantine era, the name gained some traction among Greek-speaking populations within the Eastern Roman Empire, but it never achieved widespread usage.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Elida was a Greek poetess who lived in the 3rd century BCE. Unfortunately, very little is known about her life and works, as only a few fragmentary lines of her poetry have survived to modern times.
In the Middle Ages, the name Elida was occasionally encountered among Greek communities in Southern Italy and Sicily, reflecting the cultural influence of the Byzantine Empire in those regions. One notable bearer of the name was Elida of Salerno, a 12th-century scholar and physician who made significant contributions to the advancement of medical knowledge during her lifetime.
During the Renaissance period, the name Elida experienced a modest resurgence in popularity, particularly among humanist scholars and artists who drew inspiration from classical Greek culture. One such individual was Elida Banti, an Italian painter and engraver active in the 16th century, who was renowned for her intricate depictions of religious subjects.
In more recent history, Elida Campagnoli was an Italian violinist and composer who lived from 1892 to 1976. She was celebrated for her virtuosic performances and her compositions, which blended traditional Italian folk melodies with contemporary classical styles.
Another notable bearer of the name was Elida Almeida, a Cape Verdean singer and songwriter born in 1949, who played a pivotal role in popularizing the musical genres of morna and coladeira internationally. Her powerful vocals and poetic lyrics have earned her widespread acclaim and numerous accolades throughout her career.
While never achieving widespread popularity, the name Elida has maintained a steady presence throughout history, particularly in regions with strong cultural ties to ancient Greece and the Byzantine Empire. Its unique sound and evocative meaning have endured, making it a distinctive and intriguing choice for parents seeking a name steeped in classical heritage.
People
Elida + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Elida 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
Elida: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Elida?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 4,743 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Elida 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 72,265 US residents.
Is Elida a common name?
We classify Elida as "Rare". It ranks above 96.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 7,742 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Elida most popular?
The single biggest year for Elida was 1946, when 141 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Elida is about 49 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Elida in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 11,577 people with the name Elida, or 3.83 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,251 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 Elida 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 Elida?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Elida appears almost entirely female. Of the 11,577 people counted with this name, 99.7% 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 Elida?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Elida is Hispanic at 92.9%. The next largest groups are White (5.5%) and Black (0.9%). 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 Elida most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Elida in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.9% (10,757 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 Elida in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Elida a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Elida 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 Elida still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Elida 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 Elida 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 Elida?
You can see how many Americans are named Elida on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.