How Many People Are Named Elaine?
An estimated 128,300 people in the United States have the first name Elaine. While not in the top 50, it remains a well-known name ranking #421 overall. It is almost exclusively a female name. The average bearer is 63 years old, and Elaine peaked in popularity in 1947 with 7,071 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Elaine 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 Elaine paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Elaine is overwhelmingly female, 653 male births have been registered with this name since 1880.
Estimated Living Americans
128,300
About 1 in 2,672 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Common
Predicted Gender
Female
99.8% confidence
Average Age
63
years old
Peak Year
1947
7,071 births
Total Registered
262,525
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Elaine
Elaine is almost exclusively a female name. Out of 262,525 total births registered, 99.8% were female.
Elaine as a male name
Ranked #7,255 in 1989
6 male births in 1989
Peak: 1941 (28 births)
Elaine as a female name
Ranked #369 in 2024
843 female births in 2024
Peak: 1947 (7,058 births)
Elaine: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Elaine span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1940s, when 60,259 babies were registered. Elaine has declined significantly from its peak in the 1940s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Elaine by Decade
How has Elaine 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.
| Decade | Total | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 41 | 0 | 41 | |
| 1890s | 239 | 0 | 239 | |
| 1900s | 783 | 0 | 783 | |
| 1910s | 8,582 | 6 | 8,576 | |
| 1920s | 35,018 | 111 | 34,907 | |
| 1930s | 41,254 | 146 | 41,108 | |
| 1940s | 60,259 | 155 | 60,104 | |
| 1950s | 54,320 | 88 | 54,232 | |
| 1960s | 27,542 | 79 | 27,463 | |
| 1970s | 9,812 | 30 | 9,782 | |
| 1980s | 7,151 | 38 | 7,113 | |
| 1990s | 5,440 | 0 | 5,440 | |
| 2000s | 4,138 | 0 | 4,138 | |
| 2010s | 4,384 | 0 | 4,384 | |
| 2020s | 3,562 | 0 | 3,562 | |
Elaine by State
Birth registrations for Elaine span all 51 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in New York, Pennsylvania, California. The lowest are in Alaska, Nevada, Wyoming. On average, about 5,055 Elaines were registered per state.
Elaine + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Elaine as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Elaine
Other first names starting with E with a similar number of bearers.
Elaine: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Elaine?
We estimate approximately 128,300 people named Elaine 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 2,672 Americans share this first name.
Is Elaine a common name?
Elaine is classified as "Common" and is more popular than 99.6% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 262,525 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Elaine most popular?
Elaine reached peak popularity in 1947, when 7,071 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Elaine is approximately 63 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Elaine a female name?
Elaine is predominantly female. 99.8% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Elaine Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Elaine Smith, Elaine Johnson, Elaine 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.
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