Elson
Of English origin meaning "son of the elder man or elder son".
Name Census estimates that about 839 living Americans carry the first name Elson. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Elson today is around 39 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Elson births was 1924 (28 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Elson. 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.
People living today
839
~ 1 in 408,527 Americans
Peak year
1924
28 babies that year
Average age
39
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,538
Tracked since 1911
Popularity
Elson: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Elson from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 167 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1920s peak, Elson remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Elson 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 Elson during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Elsons live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, Louisiana, Florida recorded the most babies named Elson, while Florida, Louisiana, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 17 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Elson
The name Elson is of English origin, derived from the Old English name Ælfsige, which means "elf victory" or "victorious elf." The name was popular during the Anglo-Saxon period, particularly between the 7th and 11th centuries.
Elson can be traced back to the Old English elements "ælf" meaning "elf" or "supernatural being," and "sige" meaning "victory" or "conquest." The name was likely given to children with the hope that they would be victorious or successful in their endeavors.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Elson can be found in the Domesday Book, a record of landowners in England compiled in 1086 by order of William the Conqueror. The entry mentions an individual named Elson, who held land in the county of Wiltshire.
In the 12th century, a notable figure named Elson de Hauville was recorded as a knight and landowner in Normandy, France. He was known for his participation in the Third Crusade, which took place between 1189 and 1192.
During the 13th century, an English scholar and theologian named Elson of Tewkesbury gained recognition for his contributions to the study of canon law. He was associated with the University of Oxford and is believed to have lived between 1220 and 1290.
In the 16th century, Elson Blunt was a prominent English navigator and explorer who accompanied Sir Francis Drake on his circumnavigation of the world between 1577 and 1580. Blunt was born around 1550 and played a crucial role in the expedition's success.
Another notable figure with the name Elson was Elson Brewster, an English Puritan who was among the first settlers of the Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts. He was born in 1593 and arrived in the New World aboard the Mayflower in 1620, becoming one of the signers of the Mayflower Compact.
While the name Elson has remained relatively uncommon throughout history, it continues to carry the essence of its Old English roots, representing victory, success, and a connection to the supernatural realm of elves.
People
Elson + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Elson 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
Elson: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Elson?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 839 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Elson 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 408,527 US residents.
Is Elson a common name?
We classify Elson as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,313 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Elson most popular?
The single biggest year for Elson was 1924, when 28 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Elson is about 39 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Elson a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Elson 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.
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.