2000
#71,143
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 256
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.09
Very Rare Last name
Elion
A Romanized spelling of a Sephardic Jewish surname derived from the Hebrew name Eliyahu or Elijah.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 281 Americans carry the last name Elion. That puts it at #82,881 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.08 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,219,766 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Elion surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
281
1 in 1,219,766
Census rank
#82,881
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
245
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 245 bearers of the surname Elion in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.08 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 82881st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Elion, the largest self-reported group is Black at 65.3%. The next largest groups are White (28.2%) and Two or More Races (3.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Elion
The surname ELION originated in the Brittany region of northwestern France during the medieval period. It is believed to have derived from the Old French word 'eillion,' which means 'hill' or 'rising ground.' This suggests that the name may have been initially given to someone who resided near a prominent hill or elevated area.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the ELION surname can be found in the Latin form 'de Elion' in a 13th-century cartulary from the Abbey of Beauport in Brittany. This document mentions a landowner named Robertus de Elion, indicating that the name was already in use by that time.
The ELION surname has also been linked to the place name Illion, a small commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine department of Brittany. It is possible that early bearers of the surname hailed from this locality or a similarly named place.
In the 15th century, a notable figure named Jean Elion was recorded as a merchant and alderman in the city of Rennes, the capital of Brittany. He lived during the turbulent period of the Breton War of Succession, which saw the duchy of Brittany embroiled in a conflict over its inheritance.
During the 16th century, the ELION surname spread beyond Brittany to other parts of France. One notable bearer was Mathieu Elion, a French Protestant theologian and writer who lived from 1546 to 1616. He was known for his polemical works defending the Huguenot cause during the French Wars of Religion.
In the 17th century, the ELION surname made its way to England, where it was recorded in various spellings such as Ellion and Eliion. One early bearer in England was John Ellion, a merchant from London who was granted a coat of arms in 1678.
Another significant figure with the ELION surname was Gertrude Elion, an American biochemist and pharmacologist who lived from 1918 to 1999. She won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1988 for her pioneering work in developing life-saving drugs for the treatment of various diseases, including leukemia, gout, and organ transplant rejection.
Throughout its history, the ELION surname has been carried by individuals from diverse backgrounds, ranging from landowners and merchants to scholars and scientists. While its origins can be traced back to the hills of medieval Brittany, the name has since spread across different regions and cultures, reflecting the mobility and adaptability of human populations over time.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Elion
Among Census respondents with the surname Elion, the largest self-reported group is Black at 65.3%. The next largest groups are White (28.2%) and Two or More Races (3.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Elion bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Elion surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American65.3% · 160
- White28.2% · 69
- Two or more races3.7% · 9
- Hispanic or Latino1.6% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Elion
Elion appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#75,799
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 254
-2 bearers (-0.8%)
Per 100,000 0.09
Rank movement Down 4,656 places
2020
#82,881
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 245
-9 bearers (-3.5%)
Per 100,000 0.08
Rank movement Down 7,082 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #71,143 | 256 | 0.09 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #75,799 | 254 | 0.09 | -2 bearers (-0.8%) | Down 4,656 places |
| 2020 | #82,881 | 245 | 0.08 | -9 bearers (-3.5%) | Down 7,082 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Elion surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #75,799 | #82,881 | -9.3% |
| Count | 254 | 245 | -3.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.09 | 0.08 | -8.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Elion bearers went from 254 to 245 (-3.5% change). The surname moved down 7,082 positions in the national ranking, going from #75,799 to #82,881.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Elion
FAQ
Elion surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Elion?
Name Census estimates that about 281 living Americans carry the surname Elion. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,219,766 residents.
How common is Elion?
Elion ranks #82,881 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.08 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 245 people with the surname Elion. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (281), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.08 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.08 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Elion.
Has Elion become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Elion went from 254 recorded bearers to 245. That is a decrease of 9 (-3.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #75,799 to #82,881.
What does the Census say about the background of Elion?
Among Census respondents with the surname Elion, the largest self-reported group is Black at 65.3%. The next largest groups are White (28.2%) and Two or More Races (3.7%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Elion in the 2020 Census, accounting for 65.3% (160 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Elion appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (65.3%), White (28.2%), Two or More Races (3.7%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Elion (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Elion mean?
A Romanized spelling of a Sephardic Jewish surname derived from the Hebrew name Eliyahu or Elijah. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Elion (0.08 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How common is the surname Elion?
Want to know how many people are called Elion? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.