How Many People Are Named Elijah?
An estimated 355,934 people in the United States have the first name Elijah. While not in the top 50, it remains a well-known name ranking #131 overall. It is almost exclusively a male name. The average bearer is 17 years old, and Elijah peaked in popularity in 2011 with 14,030 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Elijah 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 Elijah paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Elijah is overwhelmingly male, 1,289 female births have been registered with this name since 1880.
- Elijah is a modern name. With an average bearer age of just 17, it has gained most of its popularity in recent years.
Estimated Living Americans
355,934
About 1 in 963 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Common
Predicted Gender
Male
99.7% confidence
Average Age
17
years old
Peak Year
2011
14,030 births
Total Registered
370,593
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Elijah
Elijah is almost exclusively a male name. Out of 370,593 total births registered, 99.7% were male.
Elijah as a male name
Ranked #8 in 2024
11,171 male births in 2024
Peak: 2011 (13,997 births)
Elijah as a female name
Ranked #5,044 in 2024
26 female births in 2024
Peak: 2004 (77 births)
Elijah: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Elijah span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 2010s, when 137,406 babies were registered. While Elijah is less common than at its peak in the 2010s, it remains a well-established name with steady registrations.
Elijah by Decade
How has Elijah 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 | 856 | 856 | 0 | |
| 1890s | 704 | 704 | 0 | |
| 1900s | 725 | 725 | 0 | |
| 1910s | 1,963 | 1,963 | 0 | |
| 1920s | 2,767 | 2,755 | 12 | |
| 1930s | 2,141 | 2,135 | 6 | |
| 1940s | 2,404 | 2,399 | 5 | |
| 1950s | 2,319 | 2,314 | 5 | |
| 1960s | 1,524 | 1,524 | 0 | |
| 1970s | 3,429 | 3,402 | 27 | |
| 1980s | 7,652 | 7,567 | 85 | |
| 1990s | 34,923 | 34,651 | 272 | |
| 2000s | 110,845 | 110,418 | 427 | |
| 2010s | 137,406 | 137,093 | 313 | |
| 2020s | 60,935 | 60,798 | 137 | |
Elijah by State
Birth registrations for Elijah span all 51 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in California, Texas, Florida. The lowest are in Vermont, Wyoming, Montana. On average, about 7,152 Elijahs were registered per state.
Elijah + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Elijah as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Elijah
Other first names starting with E with a similar number of bearers.
Elijah: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Elijah?
We estimate approximately 355,934 people named Elijah 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 963 Americans share this first name.
Is Elijah a common name?
Elijah is classified as "Common" and is more popular than 99.9% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 370,593 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Elijah most popular?
Elijah reached peak popularity in 2011, when 14,030 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Elijah is approximately 17 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Elijah a male name?
Elijah is predominantly male. 99.7% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Elijah Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Elijah Smith, Elijah Johnson, Elijah 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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