Elisjah
From Hebrew elements meaning "my God is Yahweh" or "God of deliverance".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Elisjah. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Elisjah today is around 28 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Elisjah births was 1998 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Elisjah. 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 Elisjah. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
1998
5 babies that year
Average age
28
years old
1998 SSA rank
#10,104
Tracked since 1998
Popularity
Elisjah: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Elisjah 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 Elisjah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Elisjah
The name Elisjah is believed to have its origins in the Hebrew language, deriving from the Biblical name Elijah. The name Elijah itself is a combination of two elements: "El," meaning "God," and "Yah," a shortened form of the Hebrew name for God, "Yahweh." Thus, Elisjah can be interpreted as "God is Yahweh" or "My God is Yahweh."
Elijah is a prominent figure in the Hebrew Bible, appearing as a prophet who performed various miracles and played a crucial role in the confrontation between the worship of Yahweh and the worship of Baal. The name Elisjah is likely a variant spelling or pronunciation of this Biblical name, reflecting its Hebrew roots.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Elijah in history can be found in the Book of Kings in the Hebrew Bible, which dates back to around the 6th century BCE. The prophet Elijah is depicted as a zealous servant of God, confronting the corrupt ruler Ahab and his wife Jezebel, and performing miracles such as raising the dead and calling down fire from heaven.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Elisjah or its variations. One of the most famous was Elijah the Tishbite, the Biblical prophet whose life and deeds are recounted in the Books of Kings and Chronicles. Other figures include Elijah ben Solomon, a prominent Jewish philosopher and scholar who lived in the 12th century CE, and Elijah of Vilna, a revered Jewish scholar and leader in the 18th century CE.
In the realm of literature, Elijah features prominently in the play "The Dress of Fire" by Mikhail Bulgakov, written in the 1920s. The play explores the conflict between Elijah and the pagan priests of Baal, drawing upon the Biblical narrative.
Other notable individuals with the name Elisjah or its variations include Elijah Muhammad (1897-1975), a prominent leader of the Nation of Islam and mentor to Malcolm X, and Elijah Lovejoy (1802-1837), an American abolitionist and editor who was killed for his anti-slavery views.
While the name Elisjah may have fallen out of widespread use in modern times, its historical significance and connection to the Biblical prophet Elijah have endured, making it a name with rich cultural and religious associations.
People
Elisjah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Elisjah 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
Elisjah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Elisjah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Elisjah 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 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Elisjah a common name?
We classify Elisjah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Elisjah most popular?
The single biggest year for Elisjah was 1998, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Elisjah is about 28 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 Elisjah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Elisjah a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Elisjah 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 Elisjah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Elisjah 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 Elisjah 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 are named Elisjah?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.