People with the first name Elijah
252,751
About 1 in 1,311 Americans had this first name in the 2020 Census.
Measured, privacy-protected national Census count—not a total of historical baby-name records.
U.S. first-name statistics
How common is Elijah?
Elijah was the #216 most frequent first name in the 2020 Census.
National rank
#216
More common than 99.6% of listed first names
Peak year
2011
14,034 SSA-recorded births
2025 births
11,126
#12 across first names
Census frequency
1 in 1,311
Across the 2020 U.S. population
Sex distribution
Reported in the 2020 Census first-name table.
99.6% male0.4% female
Demographic distribution
Aggregated race and Hispanic-origin reporting in the 2020 Census name table.
Reading the result
Elijah across two different records
The Census count answers “how many people had this name?” using a national snapshot of living residents in 2020. The SSA series answers “when was this name popular?” using Social Security card applications associated with births.
Elijah reached its highest published annual SSA count in 2011, with 14,034 recorded births. In 2025, SSA recorded 11,126 babies with the name.
Names do not determine a person’s identity. Demographic percentages above describe national aggregates and should never be applied to an individual.
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