US baby names · Boys · 1880–2025
Elijah: name popularity by year
How often US parents chose Elijah for a baby boy, year by year, from Social Security Administration records. When it peaked, how long it stayed in the top 10, and which generation it belongs to.
Elijah was one of the 10 most common boys' names in the US in 10 years, between 2016 and 2025, reaching #4. Births peaked in 2011, when 14,001 baby boys were named Elijah, so by peak year it is a Generation Alpha name.
Elijah in the US top 10, by year
Rank among boys' names, #1 at the top. Blank years: outside the top 10. Dashed line: the year with the most babies named Elijah (2011).
Top-10 years by generation
| Generation | Years in top 10 | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| Generation Alpha | 9 (2016–2024) | #4 |
| Generation Beta | 1 (2025) | #7 |
Questions people ask
When was the name Elijah most popular?
By number of babies, in 2011, when 14,001 boys were given the name. By rank, it reached #4 and spent 10 years in the top 10.
What generation is the name Elijah?
Its peak year, 2011, falls in Generation Alpha (2010–2024). Its 10 top-10 years fall in: Generation Alpha (9), Generation Beta (1).
How many people have been named Elijah?
SSA counted 380,611 boys named Elijah born from 1880 to 2025. That is births, not people alive today, and it misses many people born before 1937 who never applied for a Social Security card.
In the top 10 at the same time
Source: US Social Security Administration baby-name data, from Social Security card applications for births in the 50 states and the District of Columbia, 1880–2025. Many people born before 1937 never applied for a card, so early years undercount. Spellings are counted separately. We hold each year's top 10 in rank order and each name's peak-year and all-time counts, so the chart shows rank rather than births per year. This page gives no meaning or origin for the name and no estimate of how many people named Elijah are alive today.