Illyas
A masculine Arabic name meaning "a strength of God".
Name Census estimates that about 10 living Americans carry the first name Illyas. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Illyas today is around 8 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Illyas births was 2014 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Illyas. 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 Illyas with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Illyas. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
10
~ 1 in 34,275,434 Americans
Peak year
2014
5 babies that year
Average age
8
years old
2021 SSA rank
#12,845
Tracked since 2014
Popularity
Illyas: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Illyas from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 5 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
Illyas 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 Illyas 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 Illyas
The name Illyas is of Arabic origin, derived from the word "Ilyas" which means "strength of the Lord" or "Jehovah is God." It traces its roots back to the ancient Middle East and has been used by various cultures and religions in the region for centuries.
Illyas is the Arabic form of the biblical name Elijah, which appears in the Old Testament of the Bible. Elijah was a prominent prophet in the 9th century BC who played a significant role in the history of ancient Israel. He was known for his miracles and his confrontation with the prophets of Baal.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Illyas can be found in the Quran, the central religious text of Islam. In the Quran, Illyas is referred to as a prophet and is revered by Muslims as a righteous man of God.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Illyas. One of the most famous was Illyas ibn Mudar al-Kinani (c. 660-700 AD), a renowned Arab poet and philosopher during the Umayyad Caliphate. His poetry and writings had a significant influence on the development of Arabic literature.
Another prominent figure was Illyas ibn Musa al-Qummi (c. 765-825 AD), a Persian Islamic scholar and hadith collector. He was known for his expertise in the sciences of hadith and jurisprudence and was highly respected in the Islamic world.
In the 12th century, Illyas ibn Yusuf al-Andalusi (c. 1163-1226 AD) was a famous Andalusian mathematician and astronomer. He made significant contributions to the field of mathematics and is credited with introducing several mathematical concepts to Europe.
During the Ottoman Empire, Illyas ibn Isa al-Hanafi (c. 1490-1552 AD) was a prominent Islamic scholar and jurist. He served as the Shaykh al-Islam, the highest religious authority in the Ottoman Empire, and played a crucial role in shaping the religious and legal landscape of the empire.
More recently, Illyas Bazna (1904-1963) was a renowned Lebanese poet and writer who was a major figure in the literary renaissance of the Arab world in the 20th century. His works explored themes of love, nationalism, and social justice and had a significant impact on modern Arabic literature.
These are just a few examples of the many notable individuals throughout history who have borne the name Illyas, a name with deep roots and rich cultural significance in the Arab and Islamic world.
People
Illyas + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Illyas as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with I
Other first names starting with I with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Illyas: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Illyas?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 10 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Illyas 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 34,275,434 US residents.
Is Illyas a common name?
We classify Illyas as "Very Rare". It ranks above 28.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 10 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Illyas most popular?
The single biggest year for Illyas was 2014, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Illyas is about 8 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 Illyas in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Illyas a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Illyas 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 Illyas still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Illyas 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 Illyas 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 share the name Illyas?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.