Elven
Of elvish or fae origins, alluding to mythical woodland creatures.
Name Census estimates that about 91 living Americans carry the first name Elven. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Elven today is around 76 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Elven births was 1921 (23 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Elven. 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 Elven is about 76 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Elvens were born before 1960.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Elven. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
91
~ 1 in 3,766,531 Americans
Peak year
1921
23 babies that year
Average age
76
years old
1998 SSA rank
#10,108
Tracked since 1912
Census
Elven in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 261 people with the first name Elven, which placed it at #32,310 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
#32,310
National first-name rank
People counted
261
261 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
42.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Elven
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Elven is White at 42.1%. The next largest groups are Black (25.7%) and Hispanic (14.6%). 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 Elven 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 Elven at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White42.1% · 110
- Black or African American25.7% · 67
- Hispanic or Latino14.6% · 38
- Asian and Pacific Islander13.4% · 35
- Two or more races3.1% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 3
Popularity
Elven: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Elven from the 1910s through to the 1990s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 150 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
Elven 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 Elven 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 Elven
The name Elven has its origins in the ancient Celtic language, with roots dating back to the 5th century BCE. Derived from the Proto-Celtic word "ɸelwenos," meaning "elm tree," the name was initially used as a reference to the majestic elm, which held significant symbolic value in Celtic culture.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Elven can be found in the Gaulish inscriptions discovered in the region of present-day France. These inscriptions, dating back to the 1st century BCE, suggest that the name was in use among the Gaulish tribes, who revered the elm tree for its strength and longevity.
In the early medieval period, the name Elven gained prominence in Irish and Welsh literature, particularly in the ancient tales and legends of the Celtic mythological tradition. The name was often associated with figures of wisdom, druidic knowledge, and connection with nature.
Elven ap Gwalchmai, a 6th-century Welsh prince and warrior, is one of the earliest notable historical figures to bear the name. His exploits were recorded in the Welsh Triads, a collection of traditional stories and folklore.
During the 12th century, the name Elven appeared in the Icelandic Eddas, a collection of Old Norse literature and poetry. In the Poetic Edda, Elven is mentioned as one of the dwarven craftsmen who created the legendary items of power for the gods.
In the 13th century, Elven de Wardour, an English nobleman and landowner from Wiltshire, was a prominent figure who bore the name. His name is recorded in various legal documents and charters from the time.
The name Elven also found its way into the literary works of the Renaissance period. In Edmund Spenser's epic poem "The Faerie Queene," published in 1590, the character Elven is introduced as a wise and ancient seer.
Another notable figure with the name Elven was Elven the Bard, a Welsh poet and musician who lived in the 16th century. His collection of poems, known as the "Book of Elven," remains an important part of Welsh cultural heritage.
While the name Elven has deep historical roots, it has also been embraced in modern literature and popular culture, particularly in the realm of fantasy and fiction, where it often evokes a connection to nature, magic, and the otherworldly.
People
Elven + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Elven 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
Elven: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Elven?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 91 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Elven 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 3,766,531 US residents.
Is Elven a common name?
We classify Elven as "Very Rare". It ranks above 63.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 464 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Elven most popular?
The single biggest year for Elven was 1921, when 23 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Elven is about 76 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Elven in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 261 people with the name Elven, or 0.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #32,310 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 Elven 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 Elven?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Elven leans strongly male. 234 people counted with this name were male (89.3%), compared with 28 female bearers (10.7%). 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 Elven?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Elven is White at 42.1%. The next largest groups are Black (25.7%) and Hispanic (14.6%). 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 Elven most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Elven in the 2020 Census, accounting for 42.1% (110 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 Elven in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Elven a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Elven 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 Elven still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Elven 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 Elven 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 are called Elven?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.