Elberta
A feminine name of unknown origin, possibly relating to the peach variety.
Name Census estimates that about 252 living Americans carry the first name Elberta. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Elberta today is around 78 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Elberta births was 1916 (61 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Elberta. 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.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Elberta is about 78 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Elbertas were born before 1958.
People living today
252
~ 1 in 1,360,136 Americans
Peak year
1916
61 babies that year
Average age
78
years old
1979 SSA rank
#9,317
Tracked since 1883
Census
Elberta in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 409 people with the first name Elberta, which placed it at #23,820 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#23,820
National first-name rank
People counted
409
409 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
71.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Elberta
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Elberta is White at 71.6%. The next largest groups are Black (14.9%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (4.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Elberta described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Elberta at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White71.6% · 293
- Black or African American14.9% · 61
- American Indian and Alaska Native4.4% · 18
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.2% · 13
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 12
- Two or more races2.9% · 12
Popularity
Elberta: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Elberta from the 1880s through to the 1970s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 461 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Elberta 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 Elberta during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Elbertas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 9 states and territories. New York, Illinois, Texas recorded the most babies named Elberta, while Tennessee, South Carolina, Pennsylvania recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 10 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Elberta
The name Elberta is believed to have originated as a feminine form of the male name Elbert, which is derived from the Germanic name Albrecht. Albrecht is a compound name composed of the elements "ald" meaning "old" and "beraht" meaning "bright" or "illustrious." Thus, the name Elberta can be interpreted as meaning "bright and illustrious woman."
Although the name Elberta has been in use for centuries, it gained particular popularity in the late 19th century. This was likely due to the introduction of a new variety of peach called the Elberta peach, which was developed and named by Samuel H. Rumph, a nurseryman from Georgia, in 1875. The peach was named after his wife, Elberta Rumph, and the name quickly gained recognition and favor.
In terms of historical references, the name Elberta does not appear to have been widely documented in ancient texts or religious scriptures. However, there are records of notable individuals bearing this name throughout history.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Elberta was Elberta Emalie Cummins (1852-1930), an American educator and philanthropist from Ohio. She founded the Cummins Memorial School for Girls in Jhansi, India, and was instrumental in promoting education for women in the region.
Another notable Elberta was Elberta Wright-Fowler (1887-1964), an American educator and civil rights activist from Alabama. She served as the president of the Alabama State Teachers Association and worked tirelessly to improve educational opportunities for African American children in the state.
In the literary world, Elberta Ione Gillis (1906-1985) was a Canadian author and poet who published several collections of poetry and children's books under the pen name Elberta Gillis.
Elberta Peale Hendricks (1908-2005) was an American artist and educator known for her vibrant abstract expressionist paintings. She taught at several prestigious institutions, including the Art Students League of New York and the Pratt Institute.
Lastly, Elberta Bradley (1912-1998) was an American actress and singer who appeared in several Broadway musicals and films during the 1930s and 1940s, including the Marx Brothers' classic "A Night at the Opera."
While the name Elberta may not be as common today as it once was, its history and legacy span multiple disciplines and eras, reflecting the diverse and accomplished individuals who have borne this unique and meaningful name.
People
Elberta + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Elberta 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
Elberta: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Elberta?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 252 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Elberta 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 1,360,136 US residents.
Is Elberta a common name?
We classify Elberta as "Very Rare". It ranks above 77.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,750 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Elberta most popular?
The single biggest year for Elberta was 1916, when 61 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Elberta is about 78 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Elberta in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 409 people with the name Elberta, or 0.14 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #23,820 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Elberta in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Elberta?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Elberta leans strongly female. 412 people counted with this name were female (98.3%), compared with 7 male bearers (1.7%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Elberta?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Elberta is White at 71.6%. The next largest groups are Black (14.9%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (4.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Elberta most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Elberta in the 2020 Census, accounting for 71.6% (293 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Elberta in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Elberta a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Elberta 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 Elberta still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Elberta 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 Elberta 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.
How many people have the name Elberta?
See how many people share the name Elberta on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.