Elyah
A name of Hebrew origin meaning "my God is Yahweh".
Name Census estimates that about 20 living Americans carry the first name Elyah. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 75.0% of registrations being female. The average person named Elyah today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Elyah births was 2009 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Elyah. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Elyah. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
20
~ 1 in 17,137,717 Americans
Peak year
2009
10 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2009 SSA rank
#13,042
Tracked since 2009
Gender
Gender distribution for Elyah
Elyah is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 20 total registrations, 5 (25.0%) were male and 15 (75.0%) were female.
Elyah as a male name
- Ranked #13,042 in 2009
- 5 male births in 2009
- Peak: 2009 (5 births)
Elyah as a female name
- Ranked #15,928 in 2024
- 5 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2009 (5 births)
Popularity
Elyah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Elyah from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 10 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Elyah remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Elyah 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 Elyah 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 Elyah
The name Elyah is of Hebrew origin and can be traced back to ancient times. It is derived from the Hebrew word "Eliyahu," which translates to "my God is Yahweh." The name is closely associated with the biblical prophet Elijah, who played a significant role in the Old Testament.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Elyah can be found in the Book of Kings in the Hebrew Bible, where it refers to the prophet Elijah. The prophet Elijah is revered in various religious traditions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and his name has been widely used across these faiths.
Historically, the name Elyah has been borne by several notable individuals. One of the earliest known figures with this name was Elijah, the biblical prophet who lived in the 9th century BCE. He is remembered for his miracles and his confrontation with the prophets of Baal.
Another notable individual with the name Elyah was Elijah ben Solomon, a prominent Jewish scholar and philosopher who lived in the 15th century CE. He is renowned for his contributions to the study of Jewish law and ethics.
In the 17th century, Elyah Montalto was a Jewish author and translator who lived in Italy. He is best known for his work in translating Hebrew texts into Italian, which helped to make these works more accessible to a wider audience.
Moving forward to the 19th century, Elyah Zvi Soloveitchik was a prominent Lithuanian rabbi and Talmudic scholar. He played a crucial role in the development of the Lithuanian branch of Orthodox Judaism and was highly influential in the world of Jewish scholarship.
In more recent times, Elyah Goldratt was an Israeli business management guru and author who lived from 1947 to 2011. He is best known for developing the Theory of Constraints, a management philosophy that has had a significant impact on the field of business management.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have borne the name Elyah throughout history. The name has a rich heritage and is deeply rooted in the religious and cultural traditions of the Hebrew people.
People
Elyah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Elyah 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
Elyah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Elyah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 20 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Elyah 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 17,137,717 US residents.
Is Elyah a common name?
We classify Elyah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 39.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 20 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Elyah most popular?
The single biggest year for Elyah was 2009, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Elyah is about 11 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 Elyah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Elyah a female name?
Yes, 75.0% of people registered as Elyah 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 Elyah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Elyah 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 Elyah 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 Elyah?
You can see how many people share the name Elyah on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.