Elyes
An Arabic masculine name meaning "sublime, lofty, or elevated".
Name Census estimates that about 31 living Americans carry the first name Elyes. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Elyes today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Elyes births was 2016 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Elyes. 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 Elyes with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Elyes. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
31
~ 1 in 11,056,592 Americans
Peak year
2016
8 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2016 SSA rank
#9,086
Tracked since 2006
Popularity
Elyes: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Elyes from the 2000s through to the 2010s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 21 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
Elyes 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 Elyes 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 Elyes
The name Elyes is of Arabic origin, derived from the Arabic root word "ʿAlī" meaning "lofty" or "sublime." It is a variant spelling of the more common name Ali, which has been a popular name in the Arab world for centuries.
This name has significant historical and religious relevance in Islamic tradition. It was the name of Ali ibn Abi Talib, the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad, who was also the fourth caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate. Ali is revered by Muslims as one of the most important figures in early Islamic history and is particularly venerated by Shia Muslims.
The earliest recorded use of the name Elyes can be traced back to the 7th century CE, during the time of the Islamic conquests and the spread of Islam across the Middle East, North Africa, and parts of Europe. As the Islamic faith and culture expanded, the name Elyes, along with its variant spellings, became more widely adopted.
One of the earliest notable figures to bear the name Elyes was Elyes ibn Mudrik al-Khurasani, a renowned Arab poet and scholar who lived in the 8th century CE. He was known for his expertise in Arabic literature and his contributions to the development of Islamic jurisprudence.
Another notable figure was Elyes ibn Abi Muslim, a prominent military commander who played a significant role in the Abbasid Revolution, which led to the overthrow of the Umayyad Caliphate in 750 CE.
In the 12th century, Elyes ibn Yahya al-Jazari, a skilled engineer and inventor from Jazira (modern-day Turkey), gained fame for his innovative work in the field of mechanical engineering, particularly his contributions to the development of water clocks and automata.
During the 14th century, Elyes ibn Sina, also known as Avicenna, was a renowned Persian polymath who made significant contributions to various fields, including philosophy, medicine, and astronomy. His works, such as "The Canon of Medicine," had a lasting impact on the development of Western and Islamic sciences.
In more recent history, Elyes Gabel, a French actor born in 1983, has gained recognition for his roles in films and television shows, including the series "Scorpion" and the movie "Interstellar."
People
Elyes + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Elyes 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
Elyes: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Elyes?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 31 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Elyes 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 11,056,592 US residents.
Is Elyes a common name?
We classify Elyes as "Very Rare". It ranks above 47% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 31 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Elyes most popular?
The single biggest year for Elyes was 2016, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Elyes is about 14 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 Elyes in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Elyes a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Elyes 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 Elyes still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Elyes 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 Elyes 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 Americans are named Elyes?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.