Elnor
Of Uzbek origin meaning "pearl" or "precious stone".
Name Census estimates that about 88 living Americans carry the first name Elnor. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Elnor today is around 86 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Elnor births was 1924 (36 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Elnor. 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 Elnor is about 86 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Elnors were born before 1950.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Elnor. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
88
~ 1 in 3,894,936 Americans
Peak year
1924
36 babies that year
Average age
86
years old
1952 SSA rank
#4,234
Tracked since 1904
Census
Elnor in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 213 people with the first name Elnor, which placed it at #36,939 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
#36,939
National first-name rank
People counted
213
213 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
71.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Elnor
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Elnor is White at 71.8%. The next largest groups are Black (18.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (5.2%). 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 Elnor 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 Elnor at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White71.8% · 153
- Black or African American18.3% · 39
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.2% · 11
- Hispanic or Latino2.3% · 5
- Two or more races1.9% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 1
Popularity
Elnor: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Elnor from the 1900s through to the 1950s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 292 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
Elnor 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 Elnor during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Elnors live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. Illinois, Michigan, Texas recorded the most babies named Elnor, while Wisconsin, Texas, Michigan recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 5 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Elnor
The name Elnor has its origins in the ancient Persian language, where it was derived from the word "Alenor," which means "bright" or "radiant." The earliest recorded use of this name dates back to the 6th century BCE, during the Achaemenid Empire in Persia (modern-day Iran).
In ancient Persian texts, particularly the Avesta, which is the primary collection of sacred texts of Zoroastrianism, there are references to individuals bearing the name Elnor. It is believed that these individuals held positions of importance within the religious and cultural spheres of the time.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Elnor was a renowned scholar and philosopher who lived during the reign of Darius the Great (550-486 BCE). While his full name and specific details are lost to history, his teachings and writings on ethics and morality were widely celebrated and influenced the intellectual discourse of the era.
As the Persian Empire expanded and interacted with other cultures, the name Elnor spread to neighboring regions. In the 3rd century BCE, there was a notable figure named Elnor who served as a general in the army of the Seleucid Empire, which ruled over parts of modern-day Syria, Iran, and Central Asia.
During the Middle Ages, the name Elnor gained popularity among the Persians living in the regions of modern-day Afghanistan and parts of Central Asia. One of the most famous individuals with this name was Elnor al-Khwarizmi, a renowned mathematician and astronomer who lived from around 780 to 850 CE. He made significant contributions to the fields of algebra and geography and is credited with introducing the concept of algorithms to the world.
In the 11th century, an influential Persian poet named Elnor Ganjavi gained recognition for his philosophical and mystical works. His poems and writings explored themes of love, spirituality, and the human condition, and he is considered one of the most celebrated poets of the Persian literary tradition.
Another notable figure with the name Elnor was a 13th-century Persian scholar and physician named Elnor al-Razi. He made significant contributions to the field of medicine and is credited with writing one of the earliest comprehensive works on smallpox and measles.
While the name Elnor has its roots in ancient Persia, it has been embraced by various cultures throughout history, and its meaning and significance have evolved over time, reflecting the rich tapestry of human civilization.
People
Elnor + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Elnor 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
Elnor: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Elnor?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 88 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Elnor 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 Elnor a common name?
We classify Elnor 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, 843 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Elnor most popular?
The single biggest year for Elnor was 1924, when 36 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Elnor is about 86 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Elnor in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 213 people with the name Elnor, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #36,939 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 Elnor 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 Elnor?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Elnor leans strongly female. 194 people counted with this name were female (91.9%), compared with 17 male bearers (8.1%). 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 Elnor?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Elnor is White at 71.8%. The next largest groups are Black (18.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (5.2%). 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 Elnor most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Elnor in the 2020 Census, accounting for 71.8% (153 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 Elnor in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Elnor a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Elnor 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 Elnor still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Elnor 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 Elnor 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 Elnor?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.