Elshaddai
A Hebrew name meaning "God Almighty" or "The All-Sufficient One".
Name Census estimates that about 28 living Americans carry the first name Elshaddai. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 53.6% of registrations being female. The average person named Elshaddai today is around 8 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Elshaddai births was 2015 (9 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Elshaddai. 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 Elshaddai with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Elshaddai. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
28
~ 1 in 12,241,226 Americans
Peak year
2015
9 babies that year
Average age
8
years old
2023 SSA rank
#10,027
Tracked since 2014
Gender
Gender distribution for Elshaddai
Elshaddai is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 28 total registrations, 13 (46.4%) were male and 15 (53.6%) were female.
Elshaddai as a male name
- Ranked #10,027 in 2023
- 7 male births in 2023
- Peak: 2023 (7 births)
Elshaddai as a female name
- Ranked #13,930 in 2020
- 6 female births in 2020
- Peak: 2015 (9 births)
Popularity
Elshaddai: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Elshaddai from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 15 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Elshaddai 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 Elshaddai 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 Elshaddai
The name Elshaddai is derived from the Hebrew language and is one of the names used to refer to God in the Hebrew Bible. It is believed to have originated during the ancient Israelite period, likely around the 2nd millennium BCE.
Elshaddai is a combination of two Hebrew words, "El" meaning "God" and "Shaddai" which is often translated as "Almighty" or "All-Sufficient." The name carries the meaning of "God Almighty" or "The All-Sufficient One." It is first mentioned in the Book of Genesis when God appeared to Abraham and introduced Himself as El Shaddai.
This name is found throughout various books of the Hebrew Bible, including Genesis, Exodus, Ezekiel, and Job. In the Book of Job, Elshaddai is used several times, emphasizing God's power and sovereignty over creation. The name is also referenced in the Psalms and other poetic works.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Elshaddai can be found in the ancient text known as the El-Amarna letters, a collection of diplomatic correspondence from the 14th century BCE. These letters, written in Akkadian cuneiform script, contain references to a deity called "Shaddai" or "Shadday," which is thought to be related to the Hebrew "Shaddai."
Throughout history, several prominent individuals have been given the name Elshaddai or variations of it. These include Elshaddai Abravanel (1490-1556), a prominent Jewish philosopher and biblical commentator from Portugal. Another notable figure is Elshaddai Jaffe (1654-1742), a Polish-Jewish Talmudic scholar and author.
Elshaddai Crescas (1340-1410) was a Spanish Jewish philosopher and Talmudic scholar who played a significant role in the development of Jewish thought. His work challenged the philosophical ideas of Maimonides and had a lasting impact on subsequent Jewish thinkers.
In the 17th century, Elshaddai Willoughby (1601-1672) was an English Puritan clergyman and author who wrote several religious works, including a commentary on the Book of Psalms.
Elshaddai Kimchi (1240-1295) was a prominent Hebrew grammarian and biblical commentator from Spain. He made significant contributions to the study of Hebrew grammar and is known for his influential works on biblical exegesis.
People
Elshaddai + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Elshaddai 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
Elshaddai: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Elshaddai?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 28 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Elshaddai 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 12,241,226 US residents.
Is Elshaddai a common name?
We classify Elshaddai as "Very Rare". It ranks above 45.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 28 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Elshaddai most popular?
The single biggest year for Elshaddai was 2015, when 9 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Elshaddai is about 8 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 Elshaddai in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Elshaddai a female name?
Yes, 53.6% of people registered as Elshaddai 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 Elshaddai still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Elshaddai 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 Elshaddai 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 called Elshaddai?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the name Elshaddai at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.