Elijah

Spellings & scripts●

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records; ○ marks a model's transliteration. Click a spelling to open its page.

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 22 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◐

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

• Spanish given name39K records spelled Elijah8 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Philippines, Mexico, Spain

  Languages: Spanish, Italian, Romanian

  Also written Elijäh, Élijah, Elíjáh, Êlîjâh

• French given name21K records spelled Elijah7 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in France, United States, Spain, Nigeria

  Languages: French, Catalan

  Also written Élijah, Ĕlijåh, Elïjah, Êĺîjâh, Èlíjàh

• Hindi given name9.2K records spelled Elijah7 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Nigeria, South Africa, United Kingdom

  Languages: Hindi, Sinhala, Urdu

  Also written Ęlîjăĥ

• Indonesian given name4.6K records spelled Elijah3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Nigeria, Malaysia, Philippines

  Languages: Indonesian, Malay

  Also written Ëlijah

63 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●

Elijah 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.

• The name Elijah is a powerful and historic Hebrew name meaning "My God is Yahweh." While most famously associated with the great prophet, this name was also borne by other biblical figures, representing a deep connection to faith and heritage.

  as a name·Biblical Names Compiled Database

• The name Elijah comes from the Hebrew name אֱלִיָּהוּ ('Eliyyahu), which means "My God is Yahweh".

  as a name·Biblical Names Compiled Database

• The name Elijah comes from the Hebrew 'Eliyyahu, meaning "My God is Yahweh".

  as a name·Biblical Names Compiled Database

• The name Elijah means "my God is Yahweh" or "Yah(u) is God".

  as a name·Biblical Names Compiled Database

• This particular Elijah is a minor figure whose significance lies in his participation in the post-exilic community's efforts to re-establish its covenant purity and religious identity according to the Law of Moses. His inclusion in the list in Ezra 10 demonstrates both the pervasiveness of intermarriage at the time and the community's collective repentance and commitment to reform.

  as a name·Biblical Names Compiled Database

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) — 146 years between 1880–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Elijah Muhammadb. 1897USAmerican religious leader (1897-1975)
• Eli Craigb. 1972USnot in their usual nameAmerican actor and director
• Elijah Burkeb. 1978USAmerican professional wrestler
• Elijah Woodb. 1981USAmerican actor (born 1981)
• Elijah Kelleyb. 1986USAmerican actor and singer
• Elijah Manangoib. 1993KEKenyan athletics competitor and middle-distance runner
• Lil Peepb. 1996USnot in their usual nameAmerican rapper (1996–2017)
• Ivan Toneyb. 1996GBnot in their usual nameEnglish association football player
• Elijah Justb. 2000NZNew Zealand association football player
• Elijah Winningtonb. 2000AUAustralian swimmer

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 · 860 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Elijah?

We estimate roughly 257 thousand people bear Elijah (counting its spellings and scripts) across 9 countries in our records.

In which country does Elijah have the most bearers?

We estimate about 252 thousand people bear Elijah in the United States, more than in any other country in our records, where it is most often spelled elijah.

How common is Elijah compared with other names?

In the United States, Elijah is the 781st most common given name of 3,122,706 given names recorded there.

Is Elijah a male or female name?

Elijah is a male 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 Elijah mean?

Recorded meaning: The name Elijah is a powerful and popular boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "My God is Yahweh."