Elishia
A feminine name of Hebrew origin meaning "God is my oath".
Name Census estimates that about 548 living Americans carry the first name Elishia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Elishia today is around 41 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Elishia births was 1981 (34 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Elishia. 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 Elishia with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
548
~ 1 in 625,464 Americans
Peak year
1981
34 babies that year
Average age
41
years old
2008 SSA rank
#18,335
Tracked since 1959
Census
Elishia in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 586 people with the first name Elishia, which placed it at #18,401 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
#18,401
National first-name rank
People counted
586
586 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
45.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Elishia
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Elishia is White at 45.9%. The next largest groups are Black (31.6%) and Hispanic (14.5%). 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 Elishia 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 Elishia at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White45.9% · 269
- Black or African American31.6% · 185
- Hispanic or Latino14.5% · 85
- Two or more races4.1% · 24
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.2% · 13
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 10
Popularity
Elishia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Elishia from the 1950s through to the 2000s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 252 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Elishia 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 Elishia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Elishias live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Elishia, while Florida, Texas, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 11 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Elishia
The name Elishia is a unique and intriguing moniker with roots that can be traced back to several ancient cultures and linguistic traditions. Its origins are primarily found in the Hebrew language, where it is believed to derive from the name Elisheva, which translates to "God is perfection" or "God is my oath." This connection to the divine and the notion of reverence for a higher power is a recurring theme in the history of the name.
Another possible source of the name Elishia can be found in the biblical figure Elisha, a prominent prophet in the Old Testament. Elisha was a disciple of the prophet Elijah and is revered for his miracles and teachings. The name Elisha itself means "God is salvation" or "God is deliverance," further reinforcing the religious connotations associated with this name.
In the ancient world, the name Elishia or its variants were not widely documented, but there are records of individuals bearing similar names in various religious texts and historical accounts. One of the earliest known references can be found in the Book of Kings from the Hebrew Bible, where Elisha is mentioned as a powerful prophet who performed numerous miracles.
As time progressed, the name Elishia gradually gained popularity and spread across different cultures and regions. One notable figure who carried this name was Elishia Cadogan, a 17th-century English theologian and author who lived from 1633 to 1695. His works focused on religious subjects and contributed to the intellectual discourse of his time.
In the 19th century, Elishia Benton Washburne (1816-1887) was an American politician and diplomat who served as the United States Secretary of State under President Ulysses S. Grant. He played a crucial role in shaping American foreign policy during his tenure.
Another prominent individual bearing the name Elishia was Elishia Graves Otis (1811-1861), an American businessman and inventor who is credited with designing and installing the first safety elevator in 1853. His innovation revolutionized the construction of skyscrapers and paved the way for modern vertical transportation.
In the realm of literature, Elishia Clemens (1888-1957) was an American author and playwright who wrote several novels and plays during the early 20th century. Her works often explored themes of social justice and the struggles of women in a male-dominated society.
Lastly, Elishia Shalom (1936-2022) was a prominent Israeli artist and sculptor known for her abstract and figurative works. Her sculptures have been exhibited in prestigious galleries and museums around the world, cementing her legacy as a pioneering figure in the Israeli art scene.
People
Elishia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Elishia 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
Elishia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Elishia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 548 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Elishia 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 625,464 US residents.
Is Elishia a common name?
We classify Elishia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 587 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Elishia most popular?
The single biggest year for Elishia was 1981, when 34 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Elishia is about 41 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Elishia in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 586 people with the name Elishia, or 0.19 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #18,401 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 Elishia 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 Elishia?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Elishia leans strongly female. 515 people counted with this name were female (87.7%), compared with 72 male bearers (12.3%). 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 Elishia?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Elishia is White at 45.9%. The next largest groups are Black (31.6%) and Hispanic (14.5%). 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 Elishia most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Elishia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 45.9% (269 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 Elishia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Elishia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Elishia 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 Elishia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Elishia 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 Elishia 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 share the name Elishia?
You can see how many people share the name Elishia on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.