Find out how popular the last name Ela is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Ela.

Ela, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Ela surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Ela in America

Ela is the 54178th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Ela surname appeared 381 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Ela.

We can also compare 2010 data for Ela to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Ela

The surname "ELA" is believed to have its origins in Poland, dating back to the 14th century. It is a derivative of the Polish word "ela," which means "alder" or "alder tree." This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who lived near or worked with alder trees.

In the early days, the name was often spelled as "Ela" or "Elia." It was not until the 16th century that the spelling "ELA" became more commonly used. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Akta Grodzkie, a collection of medieval court records from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

During the 15th century, the name Ela appears in several Polish manuscripts, including the Codex Diplomaticus Poloniae, a compilation of historical documents from the Piast dynasty. This suggests that the name was relatively widespread among the Polish nobility and gentry during that period.

One notable figure with the surname ELA was Jan ELA, a Polish nobleman and military commander who fought in the Siege of Smolensk against the Grand Duchy of Moscow in 1514. Another prominent individual was Katarzyna ELA, a 16th-century Polish noblewoman known for her patronage of the arts and literature.

In the 17th century, the name ELA was associated with several prominent families in the Kraków region of Poland. For instance, the ELA family of Krzeszowice was a respected lineage of landowners and local officials.

Another notable figure was Franciszek ELA (1639-1701), a Polish Catholic priest and historian who wrote extensively about the history of the Kraków region and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

In more recent times, the surname ELA has been carried by individuals such as Józef ELA (1829-1892), a Polish painter and art teacher who specialized in portraiture and religious works, and Kazimierz ELA (1924-2001), a Polish writer and playwright known for his plays exploring themes of social justice and human rights.

While the surname ELA is primarily associated with Poland, it has also been found in other parts of Central and Eastern Europe, likely due to migration and intermarriage between various populations over the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Ela

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Ela.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Ela was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Ela has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Ela was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Ela, please contact us.

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