Eligio
A masculine name of Latin origin meaning "the chosen one".
Name Census estimates that about 1,147 living Americans carry the first name Eligio. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Eligio today is around 42 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Eligio births was 1985 (30 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Eligio. 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.
People living today
1.1K
~ 1 in 298,827 Americans
Peak year
1985
30 babies that year
Average age
42
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,886
Tracked since 1909
Census
Eligio in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,770 people with the first name Eligio, which placed it at #5,941 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
#5,941
National first-name rank
People counted
2.8K
2,770 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.9
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
92.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Eligio
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Eligio is Hispanic at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (4.3%) and White (3.0%). 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 Eligio 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 Eligio at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino92.1% · 2,551
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.3% · 118
- White3.0% · 82
- Black or African American0.4% · 11
- Two or more races0.2% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Popularity
Eligio: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Eligio from the 1900s through to the 2020s, spanning 13 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 198 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Eligio 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 Eligio during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Eligios live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. Texas, California, New York recorded the most babies named Eligio, while Illinois, New Mexico, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 113 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Eligio
The name Eligio originates from the Latin name Eligius, which was derived from the Latin word "eligere," meaning "to choose" or "to elect." This name has its roots in ancient Roman culture and was commonly used during the Classical era.
The earliest recorded use of the name Eligius dates back to the 7th century AD, when it was borne by Saint Eligius, also known as Eloi or Loye. He was a Frankish bishop and metalworker who lived from around 588 to 660 AD. Saint Eligius is revered as the patron saint of goldsmiths, metalworkers, and horses.
One of the most notable historical figures with the name Eligio was Eligio Resta, an Italian painter and engraver from the Baroque period. He was born in Milan in 1604 and is known for his religious paintings and etchings. Resta worked in various cities across Italy and was active in the first half of the 17th century.
Another prominent individual named Eligio was Eligio Torne, a Spanish chess player and theoretician. He was born in 1905 in Barcelona and made significant contributions to the development of the Sicilian Defense in chess theory. Torne authored several books on chess and was active in the early to mid-20th century.
In the field of literature, Eligio Gómez Núñez was a notable Mexican poet and writer. He was born in 1889 in Zacatecas and was part of the Modernist movement in Latin American literature. Gómez Núñez's works explored themes of nature, love, and spirituality.
Eligio Ayala was a Venezuelan military leader and politician who played a significant role in the country's independence movement. He was born in 1779 and served as a general in the Venezuelan War of Independence against Spanish colonial rule in the early 19th century.
While the name Eligio has its roots in ancient Latin, it has been used across various cultures and regions throughout history. These examples illustrate the diverse backgrounds and achievements of individuals who have borne this distinctive name.
People
Eligio + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Eligio 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
Eligio: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Eligio?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,147 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Eligio 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 298,827 US residents.
Is Eligio a common name?
We classify Eligio as "Rare". It ranks above 91% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,535 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Eligio most popular?
The single biggest year for Eligio was 1985, when 30 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Eligio is about 42 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Eligio in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,770 people with the name Eligio, or 0.92 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #5,941 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 Eligio 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 Eligio?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Eligio appears almost entirely male. Of the 2,777 people counted with this name, 99.5% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Eligio?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Eligio is Hispanic at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (4.3%) and White (3.0%). 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 Eligio most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Eligio in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.1% (2,551 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 Eligio in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Eligio a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Eligio in the SSA data are male. 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 Eligio still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Eligio 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 Eligio 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 Eligio?
For a quick modern take, check how many people share the name Eligio on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.