Elba

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 7 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Elba is also recorded as 4 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• English given name120K records spelled Elba9 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Venezuela, Brazil, Ecuador

  Languages: English, Swedish, Danish

  Also written Ęlba, Ęlbā

• Lao given name943 records spelled Elba3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Laos, Chile, United States, Peru

  Languages: Lao, Thai

  Also written Ęlba

• Hungarian given name780 records spelled Elba3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Hungary, United States, Peru, Spain

  Also written Elbé, Elbe

• Russian given name351 records spelled Elba12 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Russia, United States, Kazakhstan, Peru

  Languages: Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian

  Also written Эльба, Ельба, Элба, Елба, El'Ba

60 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Elba is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In Portuguese, Elbe (a major river in central Europe that passes through the Czech Republic and Germany before flowing into the North Sea)

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In Spanish, Germánico; probablemente hipocorístico de nombres con alb/ælf, "elfo".

  as a name·Diccionario etimológico de nombres propios

• In English, island, Mediterranean

  as a name·Pronouncing Dictionary of Proper Names

• Ailein, Aileina, Ailene, Ailin, Ailina, Alene, Aline, Ayleana, Ayleen, Aylin, Eilean, Eileene, Eilleen, Eleen, Eleena, Eleene, Elin, Elina, Elyn, Elyna, Eyleen, Eyleena, llene

  as a name·25,000 nombres de bebé. La mejor guía para escoger el nombre adecuado

• Ferro

  as a name·Il grande libro dei nomi per bebè. Significato, origini, curiosità. Oltre 7000 nomi per bambine e bambini Significato,…

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 137 years between 1888–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Elba Emanuel Watsonb. 1871USAmerican botanist (1871-1936)
• Elba Lightfootb. 1910USAfrican-American painter
• Timb. 1915BRnot in their usual nameBrazilian association football player (1915–1984)
• Elba Berónb. 1930ARArgentinian singer (1930-1994)
• Chunchuna Villafañeb. 1934ARnot in their usual nameArgentine actress
• Elba Cabrera Trinidadb. 1935MXMexican singer
• Elba Esther Gordillob. 1945MXMexican politician
• Elba Ramalhob. 1951BRBrazilian singer
• Elba Escobarb. 1954VEVenezuelan actor
• Elbasan Rashanib. 1993NOnot in their usual nameassociation football player

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 780 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Elba?

We estimate roughly 26 thousand people bear Elba (counting its spellings and scripts) across 8 countries in our records.

In which country does Elba have the most bearers?

Elba is most frequently recorded in Argentina, where it is most often spelled elba.

How common is Elba compared with other names?

In Argentina, Elba is the 266th most common given name of 517,176 given names recorded there.

Is Elba a male or female name?

Elba is a female name in our records. Opposite-gender entries fall within the cross-gender noise we measure in the source data, so we don't report them as usage.

What does the name Elba mean?

Recorded meaning: An Italian island in the Tuscan Archipelago off the west coast of Italy, administratively part of Tuscany; between the Italian coast and Corsica.