Elliah
A masculine name of Arabic origin meaning "the highest" or "most high".
Name Census estimates that about 86 living Americans carry the first name Elliah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Elliah today is around 10 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Elliah births was 2018 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Elliah. 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 Elliah with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Elliah. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
86
~ 1 in 3,985,516 Americans
Peak year
2018
11 babies that year
Average age
10
years old
2022 SSA rank
#15,995
Tracked since 2002
Popularity
Elliah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Elliah from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 49 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Elliah remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Elliah 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 Elliah 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 Elliah
The name Elliah is derived from the Hebrew name Elijah, which means "my God is Yahweh". It has its roots in ancient Semitic languages and can be traced back to biblical times.
The earliest known reference to the name Elijah is found in the Old Testament, where it was borne by the prophet Elijah, who lived in the 9th century BCE. According to the Bible, Elijah performed numerous miracles and played a significant role in the history of ancient Israel.
The name Elliah is a variation of the Hebrew name Elijah and likely emerged as a result of linguistic evolution and cultural diffusion. While the exact origin of this particular spelling is unclear, it is believed to have been influenced by various languages and cultures over time.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Elliah was Elliah Merrill, an American educator and missionary who lived from 1837 to 1918. He was a prominent figure in the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions and worked extensively in the Middle East.
Another notable bearer of the name was Elliah Sheldon, an American farmer and soldier who fought in the American Revolutionary War. He was born in 1744 and played a significant role in the battle of Bunker Hill.
In the 19th century, Elliah Burritt, an American blacksmith and linguist, gained recognition for his efforts in promoting international peace and understanding. He was born in 1810 and is often referred to as the "Learned Blacksmith".
Elliah Hoover, an American businessman and philanthropist who lived from 1837 to 1912, was also a notable figure in history. He founded the Hoover Vacuum Company and made significant contributions to the development of vacuum cleaners.
Lastly, Elliah Winston, an African-American educator and civil rights activist who lived from 1909 to 1967, played a crucial role in desegregating schools in the United States and advocating for equal educational opportunities for all.
People
Elliah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Elliah 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
Elliah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Elliah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 86 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Elliah 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 3,985,516 US residents.
Is Elliah a common name?
We classify Elliah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 62.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 87 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Elliah most popular?
The single biggest year for Elliah was 2018, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Elliah is about 10 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 Elliah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Elliah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Elliah 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 Elliah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Elliah 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 Elliah 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 Elliah?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Elliah on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.