Elaya
A feminine name of Hebrew origin meaning "oak tree".
Name Census estimates that about 425 living Americans carry the first name Elaya. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Elaya today is around 8 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Elaya births was 2018 (58 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Elaya. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Elaya with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
425
~ 1 in 806,481 Americans
Peak year
2018
58 babies that year
Average age
8
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,972
Tracked since 2004
Popularity
Elaya: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Elaya from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 202 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Elaya by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Elaya during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Elayas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. Texas, California, Florida recorded the most babies named Elaya, while Florida, California, Texas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 21 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Elaya
The name Elaya is a Hebrew name with roots dating back to ancient times. It is derived from the Hebrew word "el," which means "God," and the word "ayah," meaning "to soar" or "to ascend." The combination of these words suggests that the name Elaya carries the meaning of "ascending to God" or "soaring towards the divine."
In the Old Testament, the name Elaya is mentioned as a variant spelling of the name Elijah, a prominent prophet in the Hebrew Bible. Elijah was known for his unwavering faith and his ability to perform miracles, such as raising the dead and calling down fire from heaven. The name Elaya may have been used as an alternative form of Elijah in certain contexts or regions.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Elaya was Elaya ben Shemaiah, a Jewish scholar who lived in the 10th century CE. He was a prominent figure in the Jewish community of Cordoba, Spain, and is known for his contributions to the study of the Talmud and Jewish law.
Another notable figure with the name Elaya was Elaya Delmedigo, a Jewish philosopher and mathematician who lived in the 15th century. Born in Crete in 1454, Delmedigo was a polymath who made significant contributions to the fields of logic, metaphysics, and astronomy. He was also known for his work in reconciling Aristotelian philosophy with Jewish theology.
In the 17th century, Elaya ben Moshe Delitzsch was a prominent Jewish scholar and Talmudist from Delitzsch, Germany. He was known for his extensive knowledge of the Talmud and his commentaries on various Jewish texts.
Moving forward in history, Elaya Ronen was an Israeli writer and educator who lived from 1916 to 1998. She was born in Safed, Palestine (now Israel), and was known for her contributions to Hebrew literature, particularly in the realm of children's literature and poetry.
Another notable individual with the name Elaya was Elaya Chudnovsky, a Russian-American mathematician who lived from 1947 to 2020. He was best known for his work on the calculation of pi and his contributions to the field of computational mathematics.
While the name Elaya has its roots in Hebrew culture and tradition, it has transcended its origins and been adopted by various cultures and communities around the world. Its meaning of "ascending to God" or "soaring towards the divine" resonates with spiritual and religious themes, making it a meaningful and significant name choice for many.
People
Elaya + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Elaya as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with E
Other first names starting with E with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Elaya: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Elaya?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 425 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Elaya going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 806,481 US residents.
Is Elaya a common name?
We classify Elaya as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 428 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Elaya most popular?
The single biggest year for Elaya was 2018, when 58 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Elaya is about 8 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Elaya in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Elaya a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Elaya in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Elaya still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Elaya in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Elaya can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many Americans are named Elaya?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.