Elyan
A masculine name of Middle Eastern origin meaning "highest".
Name Census estimates that about 329 living Americans carry the first name Elyan. It is a predominantly male name (96.7% of registrations). The average person named Elyan today is around 10 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Elyan births was 2023 (46 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Elyan. 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 Elyan with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
329
~ 1 in 1,041,806 Americans
Peak year
2023
46 babies that year
Average age
10
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,003
Tracked since 2000
Census
Elyan in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 216 people with the first name Elyan, which placed it at #36,618 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
#36,618
National first-name rank
People counted
216
216 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
62.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Elyan
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Elyan is Hispanic at 62.0%. The next largest groups are White (29.6%) and Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Elyan 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 Elyan at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino62.0% · 134
- White29.6% · 64
- Two or more races4.2% · 9
- Black or African American2.8% · 6
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 3
Gender
Gender distribution for Elyan
Elyan leans heavily male at 96.7% of total registrations, but 11 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Elyan as a male name
- Ranked #3,003 in 2024
- 41 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (41 births)
Elyan as a female name
- Ranked #13,921 in 2023
- 6 female births in 2023
- Peak: 2023 (6 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Elyan leans strongly male. 180 people counted with this name were male (82.6%), compared with 38 female bearers (17.4%).
Popularity
Elyan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Elyan from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 148 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
Elyan 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 Elyan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Elyans live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. Texas, California, Florida recorded the most babies named Elyan, while New York, Florida, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 15 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Elyan
The name Elyan originates from the Persian language, with its roots tracing back to ancient Iran and the Middle Persian era, which spanned from the 3rd to the 7th century CE. The name is derived from the Old Persian word "Aryān," which means "noble" or "honorable." It is believed to be a variation of the name "Aryan," which was used to refer to the Indo-Iranian people who inhabited the region.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Elyan can be found in the Avesta, the sacred texts of Zoroastrianism, which date back to around the 6th century BCE. In these ancient scriptures, the name is mentioned in connection with various legendary figures and heroes, indicating its historical significance and cultural relevance.
Throughout the centuries, the name Elyan has been borne by several notable individuals. One of the earliest recorded examples is Elyan ibn Husayn, a prominent Arab military commander who lived in the 7th century CE and played a crucial role in the Muslim conquests of Persia and Central Asia.
Another historical figure with the name Elyan was Elyan al-Shafi'i, a renowned Islamic scholar and jurist who lived in the 9th century CE. He was a disciple of the famous imam Al-Shafi'i and made significant contributions to the development of Islamic jurisprudence.
In the 11th century, Elyan al-Sulami was a revered Sufi mystic and author from Persia. His works on Islamic spirituality and mysticism had a profound impact on the Sufi tradition and are still studied and revered today.
During the 13th century, Elyan al-Hamadani was a celebrated Persian poet and mystic who is remembered for his philosophical and mystical poetry, which explored themes of love, spirituality, and the human condition.
In more recent history, Elyan Bakri was a prominent Egyptian politician and diplomat who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Egypt from 1944 to 1945. He played a significant role in shaping Egypt's foreign policy during the tumultuous period following World War II.
The name Elyan has undergone various spelling variations throughout its long history, including Elian, Iliyan, and Iliyan. Despite these variations, the name has retained its underlying meaning and cultural significance, reflecting the enduring legacy of the ancient Persian civilization and its influence on the region.
People
Elyan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Elyan 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
Elyan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Elyan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 329 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Elyan 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 1,041,806 US residents.
Is Elyan a common name?
We classify Elyan as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 332 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Elyan most popular?
The single biggest year for Elyan was 2023, when 46 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Elyan is about 10 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Elyan in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 216 people with the name Elyan, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #36,618 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 Elyan 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 Elyan?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Elyan leans strongly male. 180 people counted with this name were male (82.6%), compared with 38 female bearers (17.4%). 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 Elyan?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Elyan is Hispanic at 62.0%. The next largest groups are White (29.6%) and Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Elyan most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Elyan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 62.0% (134 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 Elyan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Elyan a male name?
Yes, 96.7% of people registered as Elyan 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 Elyan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Elyan 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 Elyan 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 have Elyan as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many people share the name Elyan on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.