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

Elijah, 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 Elijah surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Elijah in America

Elijah is the 23283rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Elijah surname appeared 1,094 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 Elijah.

We can also compare 2010 data for Elijah 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 Elijah

The surname Elijah is of Hebrew origin, derived from the biblical name "Eliyahu," which means "my God is Yahweh." This name has a long and rich history, dating back to ancient times.

The name Elijah first appears in the Old Testament as the name of a prophet who lived during the reign of King Ahab in the 9th century BCE. The prophet Elijah is revered in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam for his unwavering faith and miraculous deeds.

In the Middle Ages, the name Elijah was commonly used among Jewish communities throughout Europe. It is believed that some families adopted the name as a surname to honor the biblical prophet or to indicate their religious affiliation.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Elijah can be found in the Inquisition records of Spain in the 15th century. During this time, many Jews were forced to convert to Christianity or face expulsion, and some adopted surnames derived from biblical names like Elijah.

Notable historical figures with the surname Elijah include Moses Elijah Delmedigo, a 16th-century Italian Jewish philosopher and mathematician, who was born in 1460 and died in 1497. Another prominent figure was Solomon Elijah Raphael Bing, a German-Jewish banker and philanthropist, born in 1817 and died in 1895.

In England, the surname Elijah can be traced back to the 17th century. One of the earliest recorded individuals with this name was John Elijah, a Protestant clergyman and author who lived from 1633 to 1705.

The surname Elijah has also been associated with various place names throughout history. For example, the town of Elijahville in New York, United States, was named after Elijah Brown, one of the early settlers in the area.

Other notable individuals with the surname Elijah include Elijah Muhammad, the leader of the Nation of Islam from 1934 to 1975, and Elijah Wald, an American writer and music historian born in 1959.

While the surname Elijah is not as common as some other surnames, it has a rich history and is deeply rooted in religious and cultural traditions. Its origins can be traced back to ancient times, and it has been carried by notable figures throughout history.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Elijah

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

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 Elijah 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 Elijah 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 Elijah was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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