Elwood
An Old English masculine name meaning "elder tree wood".
Name Census estimates that about 5,703 living Americans carry the first name Elwood. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Elwood today is around 66 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Elwood births was 1921 (625 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Elwood. 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 Elwood with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Elwood is used almost entirely for boys, the SSA data does show 53 girls registered with the name since 1880.
- • The typical person named Elwood is about 66 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Elwoods were born before 1970.
People living today
5.7K
~ 1 in 60,101 Americans
Peak year
1921
625 babies that year
Average age
66
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,134
Tracked since 1880
Census
Elwood in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 5,444 people with the first name Elwood, which placed it at #3,718 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
#3,718
National first-name rank
People counted
5.4K
5,444 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.8
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
78.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Elwood
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Elwood is White at 78.4%. The next largest groups are Black (14.8%) and Two or More Races (2.3%). 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 Elwood 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 Elwood at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White78.4% · 4,267
- Black or African American14.8% · 804
- Two or more races2.3% · 123
- Hispanic or Latino1.8% · 100
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7% · 94
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 56
Gender
Gender distribution for Elwood
Out of the 20,755 babies given the name Elwood since 1880, 99.7% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Elwood as a male name
- Ranked #2,134 in 2024
- 69 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1921 (613 births)
Elwood as a female name
- Ranked #3,197 in 1933
- 8 female births in 1933
- Peak: 1921 (12 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Elwood appears almost entirely male. Of the 5,454 people counted with this name, 99.5% were male and only a very small share were female.
Popularity
Elwood: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Elwood from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 5,534 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
Elwood 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 Elwood during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Elwoods live
The SSA's state-level files cover 44 states and territories. Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina recorded the most babies named Elwood, while Hawaii, Rhode Island, Idaho recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 353 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Elwood
The name Elwood has its origins in Old English, deriving from the elements "elf" meaning "elf" or "supernatural being" and "wudu" meaning "wood" or "forest." It was a name given to individuals who were believed to have a connection with the natural world and the mystical realm of elves and fairies.
The earliest recorded use of the name Elwood dates back to the medieval period in England, where it was primarily used among the Anglo-Saxon population. During this time, the name was often spelled as "Ælfwudu" or "Æluuod" in various historical documents and records.
One of the earliest known individuals with the name Elwood was Elwood the Scribe, a 9th-century monk and calligrapher who was renowned for his intricate and beautifully illuminated manuscripts. His work was highly prized and can still be found in various monastic libraries and collections.
In the 12th century, Elwood of Evesham was a notable English theologian and scholar who wrote extensively on religious and philosophical topics. His treatises and commentaries were widely read and studied in the medieval universities of Europe.
During the 16th century, Sir Elwood Fitzwarren was a prominent English knight and courtier who served under King Henry VIII. He was known for his loyalty and bravery, and his exploits were documented in various chronicles of the Tudor era.
In the 18th century, Elwood Townsend was a renowned American Quaker and abolitionist who actively campaigned against slavery and advocated for equal rights. He was a prominent figure in the anti-slavery movement and worked tirelessly to promote social justice and human rights.
Another notable individual with the name Elwood was Elwood P. Dowd, a fictional character from the 1944 play "Harvey" by Mary Chase. Dowd was portrayed as a kind-hearted man who had an imaginary rabbit friend named Harvey, and the play explored themes of friendship, acceptance, and the power of imagination.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who have borne the name Elwood. While its usage has declined in modern times, the name remains a unique and intriguing choice, carrying with it echoes of the mystical and natural realms from which it originated.
People
Elwood + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Elwood 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
Elwood: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Elwood?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5,703 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Elwood 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 60,101 US residents.
Is Elwood a common name?
We classify Elwood as "Rare". It ranks above 96.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 20,755 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Elwood most popular?
The single biggest year for Elwood was 1921, when 625 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Elwood is about 66 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Elwood in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 5,444 people with the name Elwood, or 1.80 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #3,718 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 Elwood 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 Elwood?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Elwood appears almost entirely male. Of the 5,454 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 Elwood?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Elwood is White at 78.4%. The next largest groups are Black (14.8%) and Two or More Races (2.3%). 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 Elwood most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Elwood in the 2020 Census, accounting for 78.4% (4,267 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 Elwood in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Elwood a male name?
Yes, 99.7% of people registered as Elwood 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 Elwood still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Elwood 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 Elwood 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 Elwood as a first name?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.