Primarily a boy's name · 100% boys
Elijah is a masculine given name after the prophet Elijah in the Hebrew Bible. Elijah was among the five most popular names for Black newborn boys in the American state of Virginia in 2022 and again in 2023. In 2022, it was the 37th-most popular name given to boys in Canada.
From Wikipedia
In Pythagorean numerology, every letter has a value from 1 to 9. Adding the letters of Elijah yields these three numbers — a playful read on the name's character.
Elijah peaked in 2011 at 13,997 births and has fallen 20% over the past decade to 11,171 in 2024, dropping from its best-ever rank of #4 in 2020 to #8 today — a decline that's milder than Sophia's or Isabella's but points the same direction: biblical names that surged in the 2000s and 2010s cooling from their highs.
The name has been in continuous SSA use since 1880, giving it well over a century of quiet presence before its 21st-century rise, similar to Noah's pattern but on a smaller scale and with an earlier peak.
Its famous-bearer list is notably eclectic for a biblical name — actor Elijah Wood, musician Lil Peep, Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad, Olympic swimmer Elijah Winnington — spanning very different public identities rather than reinforcing one image, which may be part of why the name reads as flexible rather than tied to any single association.
Why did you choose this name — or what does it mean to you? Approved stories appear on this page.
→ See names similar to Elijah · Compare Elijah with another name → · Popular names of the 2010s · Boys names starting with E
Rank is among all boys' names registered that year.
| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880 | 100 | #135 |
| 1881 | 69 | #172 |
| 1882 | 111 | #126 |
| 1883 | 92 | #135 |
| 1884 | 85 | #164 |
| 1885 | 82 | #163 |
| 1886 | 93 | #152 |
| 1887 | 75 | #169 |
| 1888 | 88 | #171 |
| 1889 | 61 | #209 |
| 1890 | 64 | #204 |
| 1891 | 57 | #210 |
| 1892 | 85 | #184 |
| 1893 | 77 | #189 |
| 1894 | 54 | #235 |
| 1895 | 75 | #194 |
| 1896 | 87 | #186 |
| 1897 | 65 | #209 |
| 1898 | 76 | #197 |
| 1899 | 64 | #205 |
| 1900 | 86 | #211 |
| 1901 | 79 | #184 |
| 1902 | 66 | #221 |
| 1903 | 58 | #240 |
| 1904 | 60 | #243 |
| 1905 | 81 | #212 |
| 1906 | 65 | #243 |
| 1907 | 76 | #234 |
| 1908 | 64 | #266 |
| 1909 | 90 | #231 |
| 1910 | 101 | #234 |
| 1911 | 94 | #269 |
| 1912 | 142 | #303 |
| 1913 | 149 | #335 |
| 1914 | 187 | #340 |
| 1915 | 243 | #340 |
| 1916 | 232 | #353 |
| 1917 | 256 | #348 |
| 1918 | 264 | #358 |
| 1919 | 295 | #327 |
| 1920 | 277 | #356 |
| 1921 | 257 | #378 |
| 1922 | 311 | #327 |
| 1923 | 302 | #335 |
| 1924 | 261 | #375 |
| 1925 | 283 | #348 |
| 1926 | 276 | #348 |
| 1927 | 290 | #336 |
| 1928 | 255 | #365 |
| 1929 | 243 | #368 |
| 1930 | 226 | #378 |
| 1931 | 198 | #400 |
| 1932 | 231 | #365 |
| 1933 | 198 | #386 |
| 1934 | 209 | #379 |
| 1935 | 210 | #374 |
| 1936 | 221 | #365 |
| 1937 | 210 | #382 |
| 1938 | 195 | #407 |
| 1939 | 237 | #371 |
| 1940 | 201 | #405 |
| 1941 | 239 | #375 |
| 1942 | 245 | #387 |
| 1943 | 221 | #416 |
| 1944 | 227 | #399 |
| 1945 | 237 | #388 |
| 1946 | 222 | #426 |
| 1947 | 296 | #399 |
| 1948 | 244 | #427 |
| 1949 | 267 | #415 |
| 1950 | 282 | #403 |
| 1951 | 223 | #453 |
| 1952 | 263 | #431 |
| 1953 | 248 | #455 |
| 1954 | 254 | #453 |
| 1955 | 235 | #478 |
| 1956 | 197 | #533 |
| 1957 | 218 | #522 |
| 1958 | 209 | #532 |
| 1959 | 185 | #575 |
| 1960 | 180 | #580 |
| 1961 | 194 | #564 |
| 1962 | 179 | #583 |
| 1963 | 149 | #642 |
| 1964 | 161 | #618 |
| 1965 | 122 | #672 |
| 1966 | 140 | #626 |
| 1967 | 134 | #646 |
| 1968 | 122 | #680 |
| 1969 | 143 | #660 |
| 1970 | 184 | #597 |
| 1971 | 196 | #589 |
| 1972 | 209 | #552 |
| 1973 | 212 | #537 |
| 1974 | 288 | #472 |
| 1975 | 263 | #491 |
| 1976 | 302 | #450 |
| 1977 | 504 | #350 |
| 1978 | 548 | #320 |
| 1979 | 696 | #290 |
| 1980 | 754 | #279 |
| 1981 | 750 | #277 |
| 1982 | 739 | #280 |
| 1983 | 671 | #296 |
| 1984 | 631 | #310 |
| 1985 | 681 | #299 |
| 1986 | 718 | #290 |
| 1987 | 746 | #289 |
| 1988 | 886 | #266 |
| 1989 | 991 | #257 |
| 1990 | 1,139 | #243 |
| 1991 | 1,345 | #222 |
| 1992 | 1,523 | #203 |
| 1993 | 1,882 | #170 |
| 1994 | 2,621 | #133 |
| 1995 | 3,976 | #93 |
| 1996 | 4,818 | #81 |
| 1997 | 5,089 | #74 |
| 1998 | 5,662 | #66 |
| 1999 | 6,596 | #60 |
| 2000 | 7,472 | #52 |
| 2001 | 8,339 | #45 |
| 2002 | 10,053 | #41 |
| 2003 | 10,665 | #37 |
| 2004 | 11,714 | #31 |
| 2005 | 11,612 | #31 |
| 2006 | 12,055 | #29 |
| 2007 | 12,424 | #30 |
| 2008 | 13,239 | #22 |
| 2009 | 12,845 | #21 |
| 2010 | 13,919 | #18 |
| 2011 | 13,997 | #13 |
| 2012 | 13,909 | #13 |
| 2013 | 13,826 | #11 |
| 2014 | 13,881 | #11 |
| 2015 | 13,707 | #11 |
| 2016 | 13,970 | #9 |
| 2017 | 13,444 | #8 |
| 2018 | 13,012 | #7 |
| 2019 | 13,428 | #5 |
| 2020 | 13,224 | #4 |
| 2021 | 12,825 | #4 |
| 2022 | 12,075 | #5 |
| 2023 | 11,503 | #5 |
| 2024 | 11,171 | #8 |
