Lijah
Masculine name derived from Elijah, meaning "Yahweh is God" in Hebrew.
Name Census estimates that about 208 living Americans carry the first name Lijah. It is a predominantly male name (95.2% of registrations). The average person named Lijah today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lijah births was 2020 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lijah. 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 Lijah with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
208
~ 1 in 1,647,857 Americans
Peak year
2020
17 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,042
Tracked since 1998
Census
Lijah in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 251 people with the first name Lijah, which placed it at #33,109 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
#33,109
National first-name rank
People counted
251
251 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
38.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lijah
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lijah is White at 38.6%. The next largest groups are Black (23.5%) and Hispanic (20.7%). 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 Lijah 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 Lijah at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White38.6% · 97
- Black or African American23.5% · 59
- Hispanic or Latino20.7% · 52
- Two or more races10.8% · 27
- American Indian and Alaska Native3.6% · 9
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.8% · 7
Gender
Gender distribution for Lijah
Lijah leans heavily male at 95.2% of total registrations, but 10 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Lijah as a male name
- Ranked #6,042 in 2024
- 15 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2020 (17 births)
Lijah as a female name
- Ranked #17,025 in 2002
- 5 female births in 2002
- Peak: 1998 (5 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Lijah leans strongly male. 204 people counted with this name were male (80.3%), compared with 50 female bearers (19.7%).
Popularity
Lijah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lijah from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 97 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Lijah remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Lijah 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 Lijah 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 Lijah
The name Lijah originates from the Hebrew language and culture, and its earliest recorded use dates back to ancient times. It is a variation of the name Elijah, which means "my God is Yahweh" or "Yahweh is God." The name Elijah is derived from the Hebrew words "El" (God) and "Yah" (a shortened form of Yahweh, the personal name of God in the Hebrew Bible).
One of the most famous historical references to the name Elijah, and consequently Lijah, is found in the Hebrew Bible. Elijah was a prominent prophet in the Old Testament, known for his miraculous works and his unwavering devotion to God. He played a crucial role in challenging the worship of Baal and restoring the faith of the Israelites in the one true God.
The earliest recorded use of the name Lijah as a distinct name is difficult to pinpoint precisely, but it likely emerged as a variation of Elijah in various cultures and languages over time. Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Lijah.
One of the earliest recorded figures with the name Lijah was Lijah ben Shlomo, a Jewish scholar and philosopher who lived in the 11th century. He was known for his contributions to the study of the Talmud and Jewish law.
Another notable figure was Lijah ibn Ridwan, an Arab philosopher and physician who lived in the 12th century. He was renowned for his works on medicine and philosophy, and his writings were influential in both the Arab and European worlds.
In the 17th century, Lijah Burritt, an American author and linguist, gained recognition for his work on universal peace and his advocacy for education and human rights.
In the 19th century, Lijah Keeve, a British explorer and adventurer, made his mark by undertaking daring expeditions to remote regions of the world and documenting his travels.
More recently, Lijah Chuene, a South African politician and civil rights activist, played a significant role in the struggle against apartheid and the promotion of human rights in the late 20th century.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have borne the name Lijah throughout history, demonstrating its enduring presence across various cultures and time periods.
People
Lijah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lijah as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with L
Other first names starting with L with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Lijah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lijah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 208 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lijah 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 1,647,857 US residents.
Is Lijah a common name?
We classify Lijah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 74.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 210 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lijah most popular?
The single biggest year for Lijah was 2020, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lijah is about 12 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Lijah in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 251 people with the name Lijah, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #33,109 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 Lijah 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 Lijah?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Lijah leans strongly male. 204 people counted with this name were male (80.3%), compared with 50 female bearers (19.7%). 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 Lijah?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lijah is White at 38.6%. The next largest groups are Black (23.5%) and Hispanic (20.7%). 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 Lijah most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Lijah in the 2020 Census, accounting for 38.6% (97 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 Lijah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Lijah a male name?
Yes, 95.2% of people registered as Lijah 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 Lijah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Lijah 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 Lijah 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 Lijah as a first name?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.