Eliu
A Hebrew name meaning "He is my God" or "The Lord is God".
Name Census estimates that about 512 living Americans carry the first name Eliu. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Eliu today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Eliu births was 2005 (19 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Eliu. 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
512
~ 1 in 669,442 Americans
Peak year
2005
19 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,487
Tracked since 1962
Census
Eliu in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 956 people with the first name Eliu, which placed it at #12,833 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
#12,833
National first-name rank
People counted
956
956 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
95.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Eliu
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Eliu is Hispanic at 95.6%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (2.1%) and White (1.5%). 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 Eliu 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 Eliu at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino95.6% · 914
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.1% · 20
- White1.5% · 14
- Two or more races0.6% · 6
- Black or African American0.2% · 2
Popularity
Eliu: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Eliu from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 137 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Eliu remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Eliu 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 Eliu during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Elius live
Origin
Meaning and history of Eliu
The given name Eliu is believed to have originated from the Hebrew language and culture, with its roots dating back to ancient times. The name is closely related to the Hebrew word "Elohim," which means God or the divine. It is speculated that Eliu may have been derived from a combination of the Hebrew words "El" (God) and a variation of the suffix "-iu" or "-iah" (meaning "of God" or "belonging to God").
In the Old Testament, the name Eliu is mentioned as one of the friends of Job, who engaged in theological discussions with him during his time of suffering. Eliu's discourse with Job is recorded in the Book of Job, chapters 32-37, where he presents his perspectives on the nature of God and the reasons behind human suffering.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Eliu can be found in the Book of Job, which is believed to have been written sometime between the 7th and 4th centuries BCE. However, the name's usage likely predates the writing of this text, as it was common practice to name individuals based on their connection to the divine or their religious beliefs.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Eliu. One of the most prominent figures was Eliu Ribeiro (1519-1552), a Portuguese explorer and navigator who played a significant role in the exploration and mapping of the Brazilian coastline during the 16th century.
Another individual of historical significance was Eliu Yale (1649-1721), an English merchant and philanthropist who was instrumental in the founding of Yale University in Connecticut, United States. The university was named in his honor, and his endowment helped establish the institution as a center of learning.
In the realm of literature, Eliu Cartan (1769-1808) was a French poet and dramatist who contributed to the Romantic movement in French literature. His works, including plays and poems, explored themes of love, nature, and human emotions.
Moving to the field of religion, Eliu Benamozegh (1823-1900) was an Italian-Jewish rabbi and scholar who made significant contributions to the study of Kabbalah and Jewish mysticism. His writings helped bridge the gap between traditional Judaism and modern philosophical thought.
Lastly, Eliu Root (1845-1937) was an American lawyer, statesman, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. He served as the United States Secretary of War under President Theodore Roosevelt and later as the Secretary of State under President William Howard Taft. Root was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1912 for his efforts in promoting international cooperation and peace initiatives.
People
Eliu + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Eliu 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
Eliu: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Eliu?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 512 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Eliu 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 669,442 US residents.
Is Eliu a common name?
We classify Eliu as "Very Rare". It ranks above 84.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 527 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Eliu most popular?
The single biggest year for Eliu was 2005, when 19 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Eliu is about 26 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Eliu in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 956 people with the name Eliu, or 0.32 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #12,833 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 Eliu 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 Eliu?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Eliu leans strongly male. 928 people counted with this name were male (97.2%), compared with 27 female bearers (2.8%). 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 Eliu?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Eliu is Hispanic at 95.6%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (2.1%) and White (1.5%). 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 Eliu most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Eliu in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.6% (914 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 Eliu in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Eliu a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Eliu 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 Eliu still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Eliu 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 Eliu 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 are called Eliu?
You can see how many people share the name Eliu on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.