unisex name
Elija
- Gender Unisex
- Letters 5
- Popularity Rare
- Births on record 1,473
Northern Ireland
#518
2015 births
Elija is a unisex name. It is given to both girls and boys — about 18% of recorded births with this name are girls. In 2025 it was given to 14 babies in the United States. It is a rare choice.
- Peaked in 2008, when 56 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 236,855 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1889.
Elija 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.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 5 |
| 1910s | 42 |
| 1920s | 34 |
| 1930s | 10 |
| 1970s | 7 |
| 1980s | 68 |
| 1990s | 142 |
| 2000s | 414 |
| 2010s | 328 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 119 |
How popular is Elija?
In 2025, Elija was given to 14 babies in the United States. It is a rare choice.
Where Elija is used
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 Elija
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Elija also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Elija over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Sibling names for Elija
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Elija — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Elija
How popular is the name Elija?
In 2025, Elija was given to 14 babies in the United States. It is a rare choice.
Is Elija a girl's or a boy's name?
Elija is used for both girls and boys. About 18% of recorded births with this name are girls.
When was Elija most popular?
Elija peaked in 2008, when 56 babies were given the name. It has been falling over the past decade.
Is Elija a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Elija currently ranks #1,081 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.