Elio
Meaning "sun" or "ascent" from the Greek word "helios", a name of ancient Greek origin.
Name Census estimates that about 3,799 living Americans carry the first name Elio. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Elio today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Elio births was 2024 (599 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Elio. 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 Elio with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Elio is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 18 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
3.8K
~ 1 in 90,222 Americans
Peak year
2024
599 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2024 SSA rank
#507
Tracked since 1912
Census
Elio in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 5,142 people with the first name Elio, which placed it at #3,835 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
#3,835
National first-name rank
People counted
5.1K
5,142 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
76.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Elio
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Elio is Hispanic at 76.0%. The next largest groups are White (21.1%) and Two or More Races (1.1%). 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 Elio 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 Elio at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino76.0% · 3,907
- White21.1% · 1,087
- Two or more races1.1% · 57
- Black or African American0.9% · 46
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 40
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 5
Popularity
Elio: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Elio from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 1,767 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
Elio 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 Elio during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Elios live
The SSA's state-level files cover 30 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Elio, while Oklahoma, Maryland, Iowa recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 82 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Elio
The given name Elio originates from the Greek language and culture. It is derived from the Greek word "helios," which means "sun." The name has been in use since ancient times, with roots dating back to the Classical Greek period, roughly between the 8th century BC and the 6th century AD.
Elio was a popular name in ancient Greece, particularly among those who worshipped the sun god Helios. In Greek mythology, Helios was the personification of the sun, and he was often depicted as a handsome young man driving a chariot across the sky. The name Elio may have been bestowed upon children as a way to honor this important deity and to seek his blessings.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Elio appears in the works of the Greek historian Herodotus, who lived in the 5th century BC. Herodotus mentioned an individual named Elio in his accounts of the Persian Wars. Additionally, the name can be found in various ancient Greek inscriptions and records, indicating its widespread use during that era.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Elio. One prominent figure was Elio Aristide (c. 117-185 AD), a Greek sophist and orator from Mysia in Asia Minor. He was known for his public speeches and writings, which often praised the Roman emperors.
Another famous Elio was Elio Pertinace (126-193 AD), a Roman emperor who reigned briefly in 193 AD. Although his reign was short-lived, he is remembered for his attempts to reform the Roman Empire and restore discipline within the military.
In the field of literature, Elio Vittorini (1908-1966) was an Italian novelist and literary critic who played a significant role in the Italian Neorealist movement. His works, such as "Conversation in Sicily," explored themes of social injustice and the lives of ordinary people.
The name Elio has also been associated with art and music. Elio Petri (1929-1982) was an Italian filmmaker known for his politically charged films, such as "Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion," which won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1971.
In the music industry, Elio e le Storie Tese is an Italian satirical rock band formed in Milan in the late 1970s. The band's lead singer, Elio Corso (born 1962), has helped popularize the name Elio through their successful career and humorous performances.
While the name Elio has ancient roots and a rich history, it has maintained its popularity and relevance over the centuries, with notable individuals continuing to bear this name in various fields and cultures.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Elio
People
Elio + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Elio 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
Elio: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Elio?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3,799 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Elio 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 90,222 US residents.
Is Elio a common name?
We classify Elio as "Rare". It ranks above 95.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 4,349 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Elio most popular?
The single biggest year for Elio was 2024, when 599 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Elio is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Elio in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 5,142 people with the name Elio, or 1.70 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #3,835 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 Elio 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 Elio?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Elio appears almost entirely male. Of the 5,140 people counted with this name, 99.6% 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 Elio?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Elio is Hispanic at 76.0%. The next largest groups are White (21.1%) and Two or More Races (1.1%). 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 Elio most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Elio in the 2020 Census, accounting for 76.0% (3,907 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 Elio in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Elio a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Elio 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 Elio still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Elio 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 Elio 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 Elio?
If you just want to know how many people share the name Elio, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.