Eliga
A feminine given name of uncertain origin and meaning.
Name Census estimates that about 29 living Americans carry the first name Eliga. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Eliga today is around 93 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Eliga births was 1917 (23 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Eliga. 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.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Eliga is about 93 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Eligas were born before 1943.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Eliga. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
29
~ 1 in 11,819,115 Americans
Peak year
1917
23 babies that year
Average age
93
years old
1948 SSA rank
#3,416
Tracked since 1880
Census
Eliga in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 127 people with the first name Eliga, which placed it at #49,170 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
#49,170
National first-name rank
People counted
127
127 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
44.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Eliga
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Eliga is White at 44.1%. The next largest groups are Black (34.6%) and Hispanic (9.4%). 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 Eliga 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 Eliga at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White44.1% · 56
- Black or African American34.6% · 44
- Hispanic or Latino9.4% · 12
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.5% · 7
- Two or more races4.7% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.6% · 2
Popularity
Eliga: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Eliga from the 1880s through to the 1940s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 125 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
Eliga 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 Eliga during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Eligas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana recorded the most babies named Eliga, while Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 7 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Eliga
The name Eliga is believed to have its origins in ancient Germanic languages, specifically from the Old Norse name "Eilífr" or "Elíf." This name was derived from the combination of two words: "ei," meaning "always," and "lífr," meaning "life." Thus, Eliga was initially associated with the concept of eternal or everlasting life.
During the Viking Age, from the late 8th to the late 11th century, the name Eliga was widely used among Norse populations in Scandinavia and the regions they explored and settled. It was particularly popular in Iceland, where many historical records from the Icelandic sagas mention individuals bearing this name.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Eliga can be found in the Landnámabók, a medieval Icelandic book detailing the settlement of Iceland. It mentions an Icelandic chieftain named Eliga Skalla-Grimsson, who lived in the 9th century and was among the first settlers of the island.
In the 11th century, a Norwegian chieftain named Eliga Araldsson is mentioned in the Heimskringla, a collection of sagas written by the renowned Icelandic scholar Snorri Sturluson. Eliga Araldsson was a prominent figure in the court of King Harald Hardrada and played a significant role in the Battle of Stamford Bridge in 1066.
Another notable figure named Eliga was a Swedish nobleman and military leader from the 13th century. Eliga Pedersson fought alongside King Valdemar II of Denmark during the Northern Crusades against the pagan tribes of Estonia and Livonia.
In the 14th century, an Icelandic priest and scholar named Eliga Ásmundarson gained recognition for his contributions to preserving and transcribing ancient Icelandic manuscripts. His work played a crucial role in preserving the country's literary heritage.
The name Eliga also appeared in ancient Norse mythology, where it was associated with the concept of eternal life and the afterlife in Valhalla. One of the Valkyries, female figures who guided fallen warriors to Valhalla, was named Eliga.
While the name Eliga has its roots in Old Norse and Germanic languages, it has since spread to other cultures and regions, sometimes with slight variations in spelling or pronunciation. However, its historical significance and connection to the notion of everlasting life remain deeply rooted in its ancient Germanic origins.
People
Eliga + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Eliga 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
Eliga: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Eliga?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 29 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Eliga 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 11,819,115 US residents.
Is Eliga a common name?
We classify Eliga as "Very Rare". It ranks above 46% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 434 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Eliga most popular?
The single biggest year for Eliga was 1917, when 23 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Eliga is about 93 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Eliga in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 127 people with the name Eliga, or 0.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #49,170 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 Eliga 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 Eliga?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Eliga leans strongly male. 108 people counted with this name were male (90.8%), compared with 11 female bearers (9.2%). 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 Eliga?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Eliga is White at 44.1%. The next largest groups are Black (34.6%) and Hispanic (9.4%). 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 Eliga most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Eliga in the 2020 Census, accounting for 44.1% (56 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 Eliga in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Eliga a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Eliga 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 Eliga still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Eliga 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 Eliga 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 the name Eliga?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.