Elaine
Elaine was given to 1,007 girls in 2025, #305 among girls’ names; 263,543 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 145,000 Americans named Elaine and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (55% of everyone recorded); the median is 70 years old and half are between 58 and 78.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Elaine by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Elaine mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Elaine is “a female given name from Ancient Greek.”
From Old French Elaine, a variant of Elene, cognate to Helen, ultimately from Ancient Greek Ἑλένη (Helénē). A Celtic origin has also been suggested since the name appears in Arthurian legend. Doublet of Helen.
/ɪˈleɪn/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Elaine?
#305 among girls’ names, 2025
Elaine rose from #675 in 2015 to #305 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born rose from 0.24 to 0.63 per 1,000.
7,072 babies in 1947, the peak
Elaine peaked in 1947, when 7,072 babies were given it (7,059 girls, #50 among girls’ names). The 1,007 births of 2025 are 14% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1,007 | #305 | 0.63 |
| 2024 | 849 | #368 | 0.52 |
| 2023 | 808 | #381 | 0.50 |
| 2022 | 685 | #464 | 0.42 |
| 2021 | 647 | #486 | 0.39 |
| 2020 | 583 | #519 | 0.36 |
| 2019 | 545 | #563 | 0.32 |
| 2018 | 470 | #636 | 0.28 |
| 2017 | 507 | #591 | 0.29 |
| 2016 | 498 | #604 | 0.28 |
Every recorded year (143)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 423 | #675 | 0.24 |
| 2014 | 439 | #650 | 0.25 |
| 2013 | 360 | #753 | 0.21 |
| 2012 | 400 | #703 | 0.23 |
| 2011 | 399 | #699 | 0.23 |
| 2010 | 343 | #797 | 0.19 |
| 2009 | 371 | #766 | 0.20 |
| 2008 | 399 | #743 | 0.21 |
| 2007 | 406 | #720 | 0.21 |
| 2006 | 393 | #718 | 0.21 |
| 2005 | 469 | #606 | 0.25 |
| 2004 | 413 | #662 | 0.22 |
| 2003 | 427 | #629 | 0.23 |
| 2002 | 399 | #638 | 0.22 |
| 2001 | 408 | #615 | 0.23 |
| 2000 | 453 | #576 | 0.25 |
| 1999 | 462 | #544 | 0.26 |
| 1998 | 481 | #523 | 0.27 |
| 1997 | 452 | #526 | 0.26 |
| 1996 | 531 | #470 | 0.30 |
| 1995 | 541 | #467 | 0.31 |
| 1994 | 567 | #447 | 0.32 |
| 1993 | 562 | #444 | 0.31 |
| 1992 | 603 | #421 | 0.33 |
| 1991 | 610 | #419 | 0.33 |
| 1990 | 632 | #409 | 0.33 |
| 1989 | 673 | #376 | 0.37 |
| 1988 | 707 | #351 | 0.40 |
| 1987 | 669 | #355 | 0.38 |
| 1986 | 664 | #358 | 0.39 |
| 1985 | 655 | #360 | 0.38 |
| 1984 | 617 | #371 | 0.37 |
| 1983 | 795 | #293 | 0.48 |
| 1982 | 777 | #313 | 0.46 |
| 1981 | 784 | #310 | 0.47 |
| 1980 | 771 | #313 | 0.46 |
| 1979 | 782 | #306 | 0.49 |
| 1978 | 757 | #310 | 0.49 |
| 1977 | 864 | #274 | 0.56 |
| 1976 | 782 | #292 | 0.53 |
| 1975 | 860 | #282 | 0.59 |
| 1974 | 950 | #267 | 0.65 |
| 1973 | 994 | #253 | 0.68 |
| 1972 | 1,066 | #252 | 0.70 |
| 1971 | 1,287 | #233 | 0.77 |
| 1970 | 1,437 | #217 | 0.82 |
| 1969 | 1,683 | #191 | 1.0 |
| 1968 | 1,705 | #189 | 1.0 |
| 1967 | 1,777 | #182 | 1.1 |
| 1966 | 2,059 | #166 | 1.2 |
| 1965 | 2,498 | #149 | 1.4 |
| 1964 | 2,826 | #142 | 1.5 |
| 1963 | 3,121 | #134 | 1.6 |
| 1962 | 3,614 | #125 | 1.8 |
| 1961 | 3,868 | #118 | 1.9 |
| 1960 | 4,315 | #112 | 2.1 |
| 1959 | 4,454 | #105 | 2.2 |
| 1958 | 4,743 | #101 | 2.4 |
| 1957 | 5,013 | #96 | 2.5 |
| 1956 | 5,310 | #89 | 2.6 |
| 1955 | 5,635 | #77 | 2.9 |
| 1954 | 5,825 | #74 | 3.0 |
| 1953 | 5,496 | #77 | 2.9 |
| 1952 | 5,650 | #73 | 3.0 |
| 1951 | 6,069 | #66 | 3.4 |
| 1950 | 6,037 | #60 | 3.5 |
| 1949 | 6,214 | #57 | 3.6 |
| 1948 | 6,403 | #53 | 3.8 |
| 1947 | 7,059 | #50 | 4.0 |
| 1946 | 6,803 | #47 | 4.3 |
| 1945 | 5,887 | #44 | 4.5 |
| 1944 | 5,629 | #46 | 4.2 |
| 1943 | 5,966 | #46 | 4.3 |
| 1942 | 5,986 | #45 | 4.4 |
| 1941 | 5,376 | #44 | 4.4 |
| 1940 | 4,782 | #50 | 4.2 |
| 1939 | 4,785 | #45 | 4.4 |
| 1938 | 4,835 | #42 | 4.4 |
| 1937 | 4,526 | #45 | 4.3 |
| 1936 | 4,259 | #50 | 4.1 |
| 1935 | 4,080 | #51 | 3.9 |
| 1934 | 3,900 | #54 | 3.7 |
| 1933 | 3,572 | #61 | 3.5 |
| 1932 | 3,575 | #68 | 3.4 |
| 1931 | 3,622 | #72 | 3.4 |
| 1930 | 3,954 | #69 | 3.5 |
| 1929 | 3,852 | #67 | 3.4 |
| 1928 | 4,004 | #68 | 3.5 |
| 1927 | 4,110 | #69 | 3.4 |
| 1926 | 4,004 | #68 | 3.4 |
| 1925 | 3,776 | #73 | 3.1 |
| 1924 | 3,802 | #73 | 3.0 |
| 1923 | 3,212 | #87 | 2.7 |
| 1922 | 2,792 | #102 | 2.3 |
| 1921 | 2,922 | #97 | 2.4 |
| 1920 | 2,433 | #107 | 2.0 |
| 1919 | 1,688 | #136 | 1.5 |
| 1918 | 1,473 | #152 | 1.3 |
| 1917 | 1,281 | #160 | 1.2 |
| 1916 | 1,236 | #161 | 1.2 |
| 1915 | 1,212 | #155 | 1.2 |
| 1914 | 568 | #221 | 0.75 |
| 1913 | 411 | #238 | 0.66 |
| 1912 | 313 | #252 | 0.56 |
| 1911 | 199 | #274 | 0.48 |
| 1910 | 195 | #279 | 0.49 |
| 1909 | 139 | #309 | 0.40 |
| 1908 | 129 | #313 | 0.39 |
| 1907 | 103 | #347 | 0.32 |
| 1906 | 82 | #376 | 0.28 |
| 1905 | 79 | #380 | 0.27 |
| 1904 | 57 | #428 | 0.21 |
| 1903 | 53 | #437 | 0.20 |
| 1902 | 48 | #455 | 0.18 |
| 1901 | 43 | #452 | 0.18 |
| 1900 | 50 | #479 | 0.17 |
| 1899 | 27 | #596 | 0.12 |
| 1898 | 29 | #598 | 0.11 |
| 1897 | 30 | #541 | 0.13 |
| 1896 | 38 | #469 | 0.16 |
| 1895 | 21 | #691 | 0.09 |
| 1894 | 20 | #669 | 0.09 |
| 1893 | 24 | #579 | 0.11 |
| 1892 | 22 | #597 | 0.10 |
| 1891 | 16 | #674 | 0.09 |
| 1890 | 12 | #800 | 0.06 |
| 1889 | 8 | #967 | 0.04 |
| 1888 | 7 | #1,066 | 0.04 |
| 1887 | 6 | #1,068 | 0.04 |
| 1886 | 5 | #1,151 | 0.03 |
| 1884 | 5 | #1,068 | 0.04 |
| 1883 | 5 | #957 | 0.04 |
| 1880 | 5 | #857 | 0.05 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Elaine a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Elaine has been given almost only to girls: 653 boys in 143 years of records.
Girls and boys named Elaine: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Elaine, and how old are they?
145,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 55% of the 263,543 Americans ever recorded as Elaine. The median Elaine alive today is 70 years old; half are between 58 and 78.
The 2020 Census counted 176,185 people named Elaine (176,006 women and girls, 179 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 165,558 born in the U.S. The Census count is 6% above that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 26,900 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 74,800 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 18,700 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 10,100 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 6,600 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 7,780 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Elaine born?
The states with the most babies named Elaine are New York, Pennsylvania and California, with 28% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 33,577 | #429 | 1.5× |
| Pennsylvania | 21,432 | #565 | 1.2× |
| California | 18,641 | #351 | 1.0× |
| Illinois | 15,755 | #327 | 1.1× |
| Massachusetts | 14,480 | #579 | 1.8× |
| Michigan | 13,809 | #307 | 1.2× |
| Ohio | 13,202 | #250 | 1.0× |
| New Jersey | 11,454 | #432 | 1.5× |
| Wisconsin | 8,962 | #181 | 1.4× |
| Texas | 8,358 | #273 | 0.5× |
Where Elaine is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Elaine is most over-represented in Massachusetts: since 1910 it was given 1.8 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Elaine with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 8 names spelled alike, given to 323,989 babies since 1880, Elaine is the most given (81% of them). In 2025 it was given to 1,007 of their 3,181 babies (32%), the second most given that year.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Elaine
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Elaine and names like it
- Compare Elaine and ElainaBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1940sElaine peaked in 1947.
- New York’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Elaine since 1910.
- Ancient Greek namesWiktionary’s origin for Elaine: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1947The year the most babies were named Elaine.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Elaine alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with EMost given first.