Elyas
A masculine name of Arabic origin meaning "lofty" or "sublime".
Name Census estimates that about 1,910 living Americans carry the first name Elyas. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Elyas today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Elyas births was 2024 (163 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Elyas. 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 Elyas with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Elyas is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 11 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.9K
~ 1 in 179,453 Americans
Peak year
2024
163 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,227
Tracked since 1988
Census
Elyas in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,325 people with the first name Elyas, which placed it at #10,165 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
#10,165
National first-name rank
People counted
1.3K
1,325 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
46.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Elyas
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Elyas is White at 46.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (15.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (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 Elyas 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 Elyas at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White46.3% · 614
- Hispanic or Latino15.9% · 211
- Asian and Pacific Islander14.6% · 193
- Black or African American11.6% · 154
- Two or more races10.6% · 140
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 13
Popularity
Elyas: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Elyas 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 811 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
Elyas 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 Elyas during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Elyas' live
The SSA's state-level files cover 17 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Elyas, while New Jersey, Arizona, Massachusetts recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 55 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Elyas
The name Elyas has its origins in the Arabic language and culture, tracing back to the medieval period. It is derived from the Arabic root word "aly," which means "high" or "exalted." The name carries connotations of nobility, elevation, and distinction.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Elyas can be found in the Qur'an, the holy book of Islam. It is mentioned as the name of a prophet, often identified with the biblical figure of Elijah. This connection to religious scriptures has contributed to the name's enduring popularity among Arabic-speaking communities.
In the 12th century, Elyas al-Muhaddith, a renowned Andalusian scholar and hadith collector, was born in Córdoba, Spain (1135 - 1204 CE). His works on Islamic jurisprudence and hadith compilation were highly influential during his time and continue to be studied by Islamic scholars today.
Another notable figure bearing the name Elyas was Elyas Nahawandi, a 9th-century Persian mathematician and astronomer. He made significant contributions to the field of algebra and is credited with introducing the concept of algebraic equations to the Islamic world.
In the literary realm, Elyas Khuri, a renowned Lebanese novelist and playwright, left a lasting impact on modern Arabic literature. Born in 1910 and passing away in 1997, his works explored themes of identity, social justice, and the human condition.
Elyas Mian, an influential Pakistani politician and diplomat, played a pivotal role in the country's independence movement. Born in 1890 and serving until his death in 1962, he held various positions, including President of the Muslim League and Ambassador to France.
Throughout history, the name Elyas has been borne by scholars, artists, politicians, and religious figures, reflecting its enduring appeal and significance across diverse cultures and regions where Arabic influence has been present.
People
Elyas + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Elyas 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
Elyas: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Elyas?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,910 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Elyas 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 179,453 US residents.
Is Elyas a common name?
We classify Elyas as "Rare". It ranks above 93.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,926 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Elyas most popular?
The single biggest year for Elyas was 2024, when 163 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Elyas is about 11 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Elyas in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,325 people with the name Elyas, or 0.44 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #10,165 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 Elyas 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 Elyas?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Elyas appears almost entirely male. Of the 1,321 people counted with this name, 99.6% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Elyas?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Elyas is White at 46.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (15.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (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 Elyas most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Elyas in the 2020 Census, accounting for 46.3% (614 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 Elyas in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Elyas a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Elyas 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 Elyas still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Elyas 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 Elyas 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 common is the name Elyas?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.