Elijah
Hebrew Eliyahu, meaning my God is Yahweh. The prophet who bears it in the books of Kings confronts the worship of Baal.
Elijah in 2025
Elijah was given to 11,126 babies in the United States in 2025, making it the 12th most popular name of the year. That is roughly one in every 298 babies born.
The history of Elijah
Elijah reached its highest point in 2011, when 14,034 babies were given the name, ranking 19th that year. Its best-ever ranking was 6th, in 2020.
Across the 146 years of records since 1880, 381,915 babies have been named Elijah. Half of them were born before 2011, which places the name's centre of gravity with Generation Z.
Elijah by decade
| Decade | Babies named Elijah | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 856 | 277 |
| 1890s | 704 | 477 |
| 1900s | 725 | 528 |
| 1910s | 1,963 | 628 |
| 1920s | 2,767 | 700 |
| 1930s | 2,141 | 781 |
| 1940s | 2,404 | 803 |
| 1950s | 2,319 | 875 |
| 1960s | 1,524 | 1,285 |
| 1970s | 3,427 | 627 |
| 1980s | 7,652 | 523 |
| 1990s | 34,924 | 106 |
| 2000s | 110,848 | 29 |
| 2010s | 137,460 | 9 |
| 2020s | 72,201 | 6 |
Where Elijah is heading
Elijah has fallen 19% over the past decade, from 13,738 babies in 2015 to 11,126 in 2025.
Names like Elijah
Names that rose and fell at the same time as Elijah.