boy's name

Elder

  • Gender Boy
  • Syllables 2
  • Letters 5
  • Popularity Uncommon
  • Births on record 2,520

Elder is a boy's name with 2 syllables. In 2025 it was given to 47 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.

  • Peaked in 2024, when 58 babies were given the name.
  • Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
  • Today about 1 in 70,542 babies in the United States is given this name.
  • 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.

Elder over time

Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.

422
'80 '90 '00 '10 '20 '30 '40 '50 '60 '70 '80 '90 '00 '10 '20
Show the numbers
Births named Elder by decade in the United States
Decade Births
1880s 45
1890s 48
1900s 49
1910s 197
1920s 249
1930s 128
1940s 99
1950s 59
1960s 30
1970s 49
1980s 70
1990s 233
2000s 422
2010s 373
2020s (to 2025) 269

How popular is Elder?

In 2025, Elder was given to 47 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.

Where Elder is used

United States #2,734 47 in 2025
France #5,118 5 in 2009

The bar shows how near the top of each country's list the name sits, on a scale where #1 fills the row and #1,000 is a sliver. The figures beside it are the real rank and the babies recorded that year.

US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.

Names that peaked alongside Elder

These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.

Parents who like Elder also like

Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Elder over the last century — the same taste, a different name.

Sibling names for Elder

Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Elder — the two things that make a sibling set grate.

Common questions about Elder

How popular is the name Elder?

In 2025, Elder was given to 47 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.

Is Elder a girl's or a boy's name?

Elder is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.

How many syllables are in Elder?

Elder has 2 syllables.

When was Elder most popular?

Elder peaked in 2024, when 58 babies were given the name. Its usage has held steady over the past decade.

Is Elder a good name?

That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Elder currently ranks #2,734 in the United States. Its usage has held steady over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.