Elijah

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Elijah

Gender: Masculine
Language: English
Etymology:
Elijah comes from a Hebrew name meaning “God is Jehovah” from “El” and “Jahweh,” both of which refer to the Lord. Reverse the elements and one gets the name Joel.

History:
Elijah (often in the Greek form Elias, or English Ellis, or French Elie) was one of the most common Old Testament names of the Middle Ages, leading to many surnames (Elliot, Ellis, etc.). By the 15th century, it had died out in England only to be revived by the 17th century Puritans in the Hebraic form of Elijah.

Both Elias and Elijah were common in the United States in the 19th century, declined during the 1900s, and were revived at the end of the 20th century.
Elijah is quite popular today.

The surnames (Elliot, Eliot, Ellis) became quite successful as names in their own right during the 19th century.

Pronunciation: ell-eye-jah.

Alternates: Alijah, Elias, Elijaih, Elliot, Eliot, Ilias.
French: Élie.
Hebrew: Elihu.
Welsh: Elis, Ellis.

Alternates:
English: Elliot, Elliott, Eliot, Elias, Ellis.

See also: Elias, Elihu, Ellis.

Famous Bearers:
Artists and Authors:
Elijah Fenton (1683-1730)
English poet.
Élie Nadelman (1882-1946)
Polish-American sculptor.
Elliott Carter (1908-)
American composer.

Educators, Scholars, and Social Workers:
Elijah Levita (1469-1549)
German Jewish grammarian.
Élie Halévy (1870-1937)
French historian.

Miscellaneous:
Elijah Pitts (1939-1998)
American football player.

Political Figures:
Élie, Duc de Decazes (1780-1860)
French politician.
Elijah Lovejoy (1802-1837)
American abolitionist.
Élie Ducommun (1833-1906)
Swiss writer. Co-winner of the 1902 Nobel Prize for Peace.

Religious Figures:
Elijah (Biblical)
Hebrew prophet.
Elijah Muhammad (Elijah Poole) (1897-1975)
American Islamic leader.

Scientists:
Élie de Beaumont (1798-1874)
French geologist.
Elliott Coues (1842-1899)
American ornithologist.
Elijah McCoy (1843-1929)
American inventor.
Élie Mechnikoff (1845-1916)
Russian zoologist. Co-winner of the 1908 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine.
Élie-Joseph Cartan (1869-1951)
French mathematician.
Elliott P. Joslin (1869-1962)
American physician.

Popularity:
Percentage from the 1990 U.S. Census:
0.022 % named Elias
0.024 % named Ellis
0.019 % named Elijah
0.014 % named Elliott
0.014 % named Elliot

Popularity of Elijah:
Popularity (for newborns):
In the United States...
1800: 48th most popular.
1850: 102nd most popular.
1875: 109th most popular.
1900-1910: 368th most popular.
1910-1920: 360th most popular.
1920-1930: 334th most popular.
1930-1940: 417th most popular.
1940-1950: 456th most popular.
1950-1960: 519th most popular.
1960-1970: 660th most popular.
1970-1980: 480th most popular.
1980-1990: 292nd most popular.
1990: 254th most popular.
1991: 225th most popular.
1992: 212th most popular.
1993: 178th most popular.
1994: 142nd most popular.
1995: 98th most popular.
1996: 81st most popular.
1997: 76th most popular.
1998: 71st most popular.
1999: 60th most popular.
2000: 54th most popular.
2001: 47th most popular.
2002: 41st most popular.
2003: 37th most popular.

Popularity of Elliott:
Popularity (for newborns):
In the United States...
1900-1910: 468th most popular.
1910-1920: 416th most popular.
1920-1930: 536th most popular.
1930-1940: 485th most popular.
1940-1950: 406th most popular.
1950-1960: 500th most popular.
1960-1970: 536th most popular.
1970-1980: 519th most popular.
1980-1990: 395th most popular.
1990: 374th most popular.
1991: 409th most popular.
1992: 404th most popular.
1993: 400th most popular.
1994: 462nd most popular.
1995: 495th most popular.
1996: 505th most popular.
1997: 512th most popular.
1998: 495th most popular.
1999: 542nd most popular.
2000: 544th most popular.
2001: 552nd most popular.
2002: 544th most popular.
2003: 512th most popular.

Popularity of Elliot:
Popularity (for newborns):
In the United States...
1900-1910: N/A
1910-1920: 854th most popular.
1920-1930: 790th most popular.
1930-1940: 869th most popular.
1940-1950: 531st most popular.
1950-1960: 575th most popular.
1960-1970: 617th most popular.
1970-1980: 535th most popular.
1980-1990: 389th most popular.
1990: 384th most popular.
1991: 387th most popular.
1992: 398th most popular.
1993: 395th most popular.
1994: 423rd most popular.
1995: 433rd most popular.
1996: 474th most popular.
1997: 467th most popular.
1998: 462nd most popular.
1999: 500th most popular.
2000: 462nd most popular.
2001: 444th most popular.
2002: 428th most popular.
2003: 418th most popular.

Popularity of Eliot:
Popularity (for newborns):
In the United States...
1900-1960: N/A
1960-1970: 983rd most popular.
1970-2000: N/A

Popularity of Elie:
Popularity (for newborns):
In France...
1900: 53rd most popular.
1910: 54th most popular.
1920: 55th most popular.
1930: 60th most popular.
1940: 86th most popular.
1950: 119th most popular.
1960: 183rd most popular.
1963: 199th most popular.
1970-1980: N/A
1988: 198th most popular.
1990: 192nd most popular.
1998: 186th most popular.
2000: N/A

Popularity of Alijah:
Popularity (for newborns):
In the United States...
1900-1990: N/A
2000: N/A
2001: 891st most popular.
2002: 688th most popular.
2003: 658th most popular.