Elyias
Derived from a Hebrew name meaning "my God is Yahweh".
Name Census estimates that about 13 living Americans carry the first name Elyias. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Elyias today is around 5 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Elyias births was 2021 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Elyias. 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 Elyias. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
13
~ 1 in 26,365,718 Americans
Peak year
2021
7 babies that year
Average age
5
years old
2022 SSA rank
#11,265
Tracked since 2021
Popularity
Elyias: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Elyias 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 Elyias during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 13 | 0 | 13 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Elyias
The name Elyias has its origins in the ancient Aramaic language, which was spoken in the Middle East during the first millennium BCE. It is derived from the Aramaic word "eliya," which means "my God is Yahweh." This suggests that the name carries a strong religious connotation and was likely popular among the Jewish and early Christian communities in the region.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Elyias can be found in the Dead Sea Scrolls, a collection of ancient Jewish manuscripts dating back to the 3rd century BCE. In these scrolls, Elyias is mentioned as the name of a scribe and scholar who was part of the Essene community that lived in the Judean desert.
During the early Christian era, the name Elyias gained popularity among followers of the new religion. It is believed that one of the earliest Christians to bear the name was Elyias of Crete, a 1st-century disciple of the Apostle Paul. According to tradition, Elyias accompanied Paul on his missionary journeys and later became the first Bishop of Crete.
In the 4th century CE, there was a prominent figure named Elyias the Younger, who was a monk and theologian from Antioch. He is best known for his writings on the nature of the Trinity and his defense of the Nicene Creed against the Arian heresy.
Another notable figure with the name Elyias was Elyias of Gaza, a 6th-century philosopher and rhetorician who lived in the Byzantine Empire. He is remembered for his work on the interpretation of Aristotle's writings and his contributions to the field of logic.
During the Middle Ages, the name Elyias was relatively uncommon in Europe, but it did appear sporadically in certain regions. One example is Elyias of Cortona, an Italian Franciscan friar who lived in the 13th century and was known for his piety and charitable works.
As the centuries passed, the name Elyias continued to be used, albeit infrequently, in various parts of the world. In the 17th century, there was an English mathematician and astronomer named Elyias Allen, who made significant contributions to the field of navigation and the calculation of planetary orbits.
People
Elyias + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Elyias 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
Elyias: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Elyias?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 13 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Elyias 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 26,365,718 US residents.
Is Elyias a common name?
We classify Elyias as "Very Rare". It ranks above 33.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 13 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Elyias most popular?
The single biggest year for Elyias was 2021, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Elyias is about 5 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 Elyias in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Elyias a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Elyias 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 Elyias still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Elyias 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 Elyias 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 Elyias?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the name Elyias at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.