Elishua
Hebrew masculine name meaning "God is salvation" or "God is my salvation".
Name Census estimates that about 88 living Americans carry the first name Elishua. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Elishua today is around 19 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Elishua births was 1995 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Elishua. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Elishua. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
88
~ 1 in 3,894,936 Americans
Peak year
1995
8 babies that year
Average age
19
years old
2021 SSA rank
#12,677
Tracked since 1995
Popularity
Elishua: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Elishua from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 36 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Elishua 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 Elishua during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Elishua
The name Elishua has its origins in the Hebrew language and culture, dating back to ancient times. It is derived from the Hebrew words "El," meaning "God," and "Yeshua," meaning "salvation" or "deliverance." The name is closely related to the name Joshua, which has a similar meaning and etymology.
In the Old Testament of the Bible, the name Elishua is mentioned as a son of King David. However, it is unclear whether this was a direct reference to the name or a variation of a different name. The name also appears in other ancient Hebrew texts and historical records, although its usage was relatively rare compared to some other biblical names.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Elishua comes from the 1st century CE, when a Jewish scholar and historian named Josephus mentioned an individual by that name. Unfortunately, few details are known about this person beyond their name.
Throughout history, there have been a few notable individuals who bore the name Elishua. One of the most prominent was Elishua ben Abuyah, a Jewish scholar and philosopher who lived in the 2nd century CE. He was widely known for his teachings and contributions to Jewish thought, although he later renounced his faith and became an apostate.
Another noteworthy figure was Elishua Anavi, a Jewish scholar and mystic who lived in the 16th century. He was a prominent figure in the Kabbalistic tradition and authored several influential works on Jewish mysticism.
In the realm of literature, Elishua Soloveitchik was a 19th-century Russian-Jewish writer and poet. He is best known for his collection of Hebrew poems, which offered insights into Jewish life and culture in that era.
Moving into more modern times, Elishua Aviner was an Israeli politician and scholar who served as a member of the Knesset (Israeli parliament) in the late 20th century. He was a prominent voice in religious Zionism and advocated for the integration of Jewish religious values into the state of Israel.
While the name Elishua has not been as widely used as some other biblical names, it has left its mark on history through the lives and contributions of these individuals and others who bore the name.
People
Elishua + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Elishua 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
Elishua: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Elishua?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 88 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Elishua 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 3,894,936 US residents.
Is Elishua a common name?
We classify Elishua as "Very Rare". It ranks above 62.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 89 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Elishua most popular?
The single biggest year for Elishua was 1995, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Elishua is about 19 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 Elishua in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Elishua a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Elishua 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 Elishua still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Elishua 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 Elishua 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 many people have the name Elishua?
See how many people share the name Elishua on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.