How Many People Are Named El?
An estimated 167 people in the United States have the first name El. It is used for both genders, with 86.6% male. The average bearer is 46 years old, and El peaked in popularity in 1928 with 12 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of El as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name El paired with any surname.
Estimated Living Americans
167
About 1 in 2,052,421 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Very Rare
Predicted Gender
Male
86.6% confidence
Average Age
46
years old
Peak Year
1928
12 births
Total Registered
284
since 1880
Gender Distribution for El
El is predominantly male (86.6%), though 38 female births have been registered. It functions as a unisex name for a small percentage of bearers.
El as a male name
Ranked #12,750 in 2023
5 male births in 2023
Peak: 2000 (11 births)
El as a female name
Ranked #5,536 in 1947
5 female births in 1947
Peak: 1928 (7 births)
El: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for El span from the 1910s to the 2020s, covering 11 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1930s, when 48 babies were registered. El has declined significantly from its peak in the 1930s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
El by Decade
How has El tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
El by State
El + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with El as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to El
Other first names starting with E with a similar number of bearers.
El: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named El?
We estimate approximately 167 people named El are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 2,052,421 Americans share this first name.
Is El a common name?
El is classified as "Very Rare" and is more popular than 71.8% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 284 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was El most popular?
El reached peak popularity in 1928, when 12 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named El is approximately 46 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is El a male name?
El is predominantly male. 86.6% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many El Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: El Smith, El Johnson, El Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
Search for a full name combination
How Many of Me