How Many People Are Named Ely?
An estimated 4,333 people in the United States have the first name Ely. It is used for both genders, with 88.1% male. The average bearer is 24 years old, and Ely peaked in popularity in 2009 with 175 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Ely 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 Ely paired with any surname.
Estimated Living Americans
4,333
About 1 in 79,103 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Rare
Predicted Gender
Male
88.1% confidence
Average Age
24
years old
Peak Year
2009
175 births
Total Registered
5,022
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Ely
Ely is predominantly male (88.1%), though 600 female births have been registered. It functions as a unisex name for a small percentage of bearers.
Ely as a male name
Ranked #3,054 in 2024
40 male births in 2024
Peak: 2009 (159 births)
Ely as a female name
Ranked #4,677 in 2024
29 female births in 2024
Peak: 2022 (30 births)
Ely: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Ely span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 2000s, when 1,397 babies were registered. Ely has declined significantly from its peak in the 2000s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Ely by Decade
How has Ely 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.
Ely by State
Birth registrations for Ely span all 26 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in California, Texas, New York. The lowest are in South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Nevada. On average, about 74 Elys were registered per state.
Ely + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Ely as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Ely
Other first names starting with E with a similar number of bearers.
Ely: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ely?
We estimate approximately 4,333 people named Ely 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 79,103 Americans share this first name.
Is Ely a common name?
Ely is classified as "Rare" and is more popular than 96.2% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 5,022 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Ely most popular?
Ely reached peak popularity in 2009, when 175 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Ely is approximately 24 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Ely a male name?
Ely is predominantly male. 88.1% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Ely Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Ely Smith, Ely Johnson, Ely 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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