Elya
A Hebrew name meaning "the highest" or "exalted".
Name Census estimates that about 614 living Americans carry the first name Elya. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 60.8% of registrations being male. The average person named Elya today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Elya births was 2019 (38 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Elya. 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
- • Elya was once a predominantly female name but has become increasingly popular for boys in recent decades.
People living today
614
~ 1 in 558,232 Americans
Peak year
2019
38 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,540
Tracked since 1983
Gender
Gender distribution for Elya
Elya is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 623 total registrations, 379 (60.8%) were male and 244 (39.2%) were female.
Elya as a male name
- Ranked #6,540 in 2024
- 13 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2019 (28 births)
Elya as a female name
- Ranked #7,321 in 2024
- 15 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2023 (15 births)
Popularity
Elya: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Elya from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 235 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Elya remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Elya 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 Elya during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Elyas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Elya
Elya is a name of Hebrew origin, derived from the Biblical name Elijah, which means "My God is Yahweh." The name can be traced back to ancient Jewish traditions and is mentioned in various religious texts, including the Hebrew Bible.
One of the earliest and most notable references to the name Elijah can be found in the Books of Kings in the Old Testament. The prophet Elijah is depicted as a significant figure who performed miracles and played a crucial role in the religious and spiritual life of ancient Israel. His name has been revered and passed down through generations, leading to the use of variations like Elya.
In the Middle Ages, the name Elya gained popularity among Jewish communities across Europe and the Middle East. It was particularly common in areas with significant Jewish populations, such as Spain, France, and Germany. During this period, several historical figures bore the name Elya, including Elya ben Shmuel ha-Levi (c. 1140-1220), a prominent French Talmudic scholar and author.
Another notable figure with the name Elya was Elya Mizrahi (1455-1526), a renowned Kabbalist and Rabbi from the Ottoman Empire. He was highly regarded for his contributions to Jewish mysticism and his influential works, such as "Reshit Chochmah" (The Beginning of Wisdom).
In the 16th century, Elya Levita (c. 1469-1549), a Jewish grammarian and philosopher, made significant contributions to the study of Hebrew linguistics and the preservation of Jewish texts. His works, including the "Sefer Bahur" (Book of Choice), had a lasting impact on the understanding of the Hebrew language.
Moving forward in time, Elya Ber Viterbo (1809-1883) was a Lithuanian-born Hebrew writer and educator who lived in the Russian Empire. He authored several books on Jewish history and culture, contributing to the preservation and dissemination of Jewish literary heritage.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who bore the name Elya, reflecting its enduring presence and significance within Jewish culture and tradition.
People
Elya + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Elya 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
Elya: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Elya?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 614 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Elya 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 558,232 US residents.
Is Elya a common name?
We classify Elya as "Very Rare". It ranks above 86.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 623 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Elya most popular?
The single biggest year for Elya was 2019, when 38 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Elya is about 16 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Elya a male name?
Yes, 60.8% of people registered as Elya 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.