Elder
Elder was given to 47 boys in 2025, #2,725 among boys’ names; 2,320 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 1,510 Americans named Elder and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (65% of everyone recorded); the median is 19 years old and half are between 9 and 29.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Elder by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
How popular is Elder?
#2,725 among boys’ names, 2025
Elder rose from #3,456 in 2015 to #2,725 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born rose from 16.7 to 27.5 per million.
58 babies in 2024, the peak
Elder peaked in 2024, when 58 boys were given it, #2,397 among boys’ names. The 47 births of 2025 are 81% of that peak.
Births by sex.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 47 | #2,725 | 0.03 |
| 2024 | 58 | #2,397 | 0.03 |
| 2023 | 48 | #2,705 | 0.03 |
| 2022 | 41 | #3,017 | 0.02 |
| 2021 | 44 | #2,830 | 0.03 |
| 2020 | 31 | #3,512 | 0.02 |
| 2019 | 50 | #2,596 | 0.03 |
| 2018 | 30 | #3,628 | 0.02 |
| 2017 | 44 | #2,769 | 0.02 |
| 2016 | 40 | #2,944 | 0.02 |
Every recorded year (125)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 32 | #3,456 | 0.02 |
| 2014 | 45 | #2,674 | 0.02 |
| 2013 | 29 | #3,600 | 0.02 |
| 2012 | 27 | #3,824 | 0.01 |
| 2011 | 35 | #3,186 | 0.02 |
| 2010 | 41 | #2,886 | 0.02 |
| 2009 | 41 | #2,914 | 0.02 |
| 2008 | 48 | #2,599 | 0.02 |
| 2007 | 56 | #2,314 | 0.03 |
| 2006 | 56 | #2,258 | 0.03 |
| 2005 | 40 | #2,717 | 0.02 |
| 2004 | 36 | #2,856 | 0.02 |
| 2003 | 39 | #2,584 | 0.02 |
| 2002 | 46 | #2,259 | 0.02 |
| 2001 | 28 | #3,160 | 0.01 |
| 2000 | 32 | #2,820 | 0.02 |
| 1999 | 32 | #2,681 | 0.02 |
| 1998 | 36 | #2,405 | 0.02 |
| 1997 | 23 | #3,190 | 0.01 |
| 1996 | 22 | #3,226 | 0.01 |
| 1995 | 22 | #3,123 | 0.01 |
| 1994 | 17 | #3,789 | 0.01 |
| 1993 | 19 | #3,402 | 0.01 |
| 1992 | 24 | #2,860 | 0.01 |
| 1991 | 14 | #4,063 | 0.01 |
| 1990 | 24 | #2,717 | 0.01 |
| 1989 | 11 | #4,597 | 0.01 |
| 1988 | 7 | #5,947 | under 0.01 |
| 1986 | 15 | #3,175 | 0.01 |
| 1985 | 7 | #5,312 | under 0.01 |
| 1984 | 7 | #5,129 | under 0.01 |
| 1983 | 9 | #4,245 | 0.01 |
| 1981 | 7 | #5,088 | under 0.01 |
| 1980 | 7 | #5,094 | under 0.01 |
| 1979 | 7 | #4,994 | under 0.01 |
| 1978 | 5 | #6,092 | under 0.01 |
| 1977 | 5 | #6,142 | under 0.01 |
| 1976 | 5 | #5,861 | under 0.01 |
| 1973 | 6 | #4,673 | under 0.01 |
| 1972 | 6 | #4,598 | under 0.01 |
| 1971 | 9 | #3,451 | 0.01 |
| 1970 | 6 | #4,388 | under 0.01 |
| 1969 | 7 | #3,698 | under 0.01 |
| 1967 | 5 | #4,129 | under 0.01 |
| 1964 | 5 | #4,225 | under 0.01 |
| 1963 | 6 | #3,753 | under 0.01 |
| 1960 | 7 | #3,436 | under 0.01 |
| 1959 | 6 | #3,717 | under 0.01 |
| 1957 | 5 | #4,147 | under 0.01 |
| 1956 | 9 | #2,848 | under 0.01 |
| 1955 | 7 | #3,282 | under 0.01 |
| 1954 | 8 | #3,019 | under 0.01 |
| 1952 | 7 | #3,177 | under 0.01 |
| 1951 | 6 | #3,453 | under 0.01 |
| 1950 | 11 | #2,353 | 0.01 |
| 1949 | 11 | #2,373 | 0.01 |
| 1948 | 9 | #2,661 | 0.01 |
| 1947 | 10 | #2,542 | 0.01 |
| 1946 | 6 | #3,274 | under 0.01 |
| 1945 | 10 | #2,291 | 0.01 |
| 1944 | 10 | #2,353 | 0.01 |
| 1943 | 7 | #3,030 | under 0.01 |
| 1942 | 10 | #2,419 | 0.01 |
| 1941 | 7 | #2,956 | 0.01 |
| 1940 | 14 | #1,927 | 0.01 |
| 1939 | 11 | #2,202 | 0.01 |
| 1938 | 6 | #3,270 | 0.01 |
| 1937 | 11 | #2,241 | 0.01 |
| 1936 | 14 | #1,904 | 0.01 |
| 1935 | 11 | #2,288 | 0.01 |
| 1934 | 14 | #1,959 | 0.01 |
| 1933 | 15 | #1,851 | 0.02 |
| 1932 | 12 | #2,225 | 0.01 |
| 1931 | 21 | #1,557 | 0.02 |
| 1930 | 8 | #3,100 | 0.01 |
| 1929 | 17 | #1,875 | 0.02 |
| 1928 | 21 | #1,662 | 0.02 |
| 1927 | 16 | #2,065 | 0.01 |
| 1926 | 29 | #1,365 | 0.03 |
| 1925 | 12 | #2,474 | 0.01 |
| 1924 | 28 | #1,426 | 0.02 |
| 1923 | 23 | #1,612 | 0.02 |
| 1922 | 22 | #1,664 | 0.02 |
| 1921 | 20 | #1,783 | 0.02 |
| 1920 | 25 | #1,517 | 0.02 |
| 1919 | 21 | #1,646 | 0.02 |
| 1918 | 33 | #1,217 | 0.03 |
| 1917 | 21 | #1,605 | 0.02 |
| 1916 | 28 | #1,277 | 0.03 |
| 1915 | 14 | #1,998 | 0.02 |
| 1914 | 25 | #1,165 | 0.04 |
| 1913 | 13 | #1,517 | 0.03 |
| 1912 | 19 | #1,069 | 0.04 |
| 1911 | 6 | #1,588 | 0.03 |
| 1910 | 11 | #997 | 0.06 |
| 1906 | 5 | #1,290 | 0.04 |
| 1905 | 9 | #858 | 0.07 |
| 1904 | 7 | #993 | 0.05 |
| 1903 | 5 | #1,171 | 0.04 |
| 1902 | 6 | #1,044 | 0.05 |
| 1901 | 6 | #980 | 0.06 |
| 1900 | 11 | #800 | 0.07 |
| 1899 | 13 | #556 | 0.12 |
| 1898 | 10 | #708 | 0.08 |
| 1896 | 7 | #922 | 0.06 |
| 1895 | 8 | #813 | 0.07 |
| 1893 | 5 | #1,085 | 0.04 |
| 1892 | 5 | #1,113 | 0.04 |
| 1889 | 6 | #906 | 0.05 |
| 1888 | 5 | #1,072 | 0.04 |
| 1886 | 7 | #786 | 0.06 |
| 1884 | 7 | #794 | 0.06 |
| 1883 | 5 | #933 | 0.05 |
| 1881 | 7 | #727 | 0.07 |
| 1880 | 8 | #699 | 0.07 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Elder a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 2,320 Americans recorded as Elder, 2% are girls and 98% boys. In 2025 it went to 47 boys; SSA lists no girls with it that year (fewer than 5, or none).
Years with fewer than 20 babies given the name are left blank.
Girls and boys named Elder: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Elder, and how old are they?
1,510 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 65% of the 2,320 Americans ever recorded as Elder. The median Elder alive today is 19 years old; half are between 9 and 29.
The 2020 Census counted 4,337 people named Elder (290 women and girls, 4,047 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 1,312 born in the U.S. The Census count is 3.3 times that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out, and it records the name people give, which SSA may have recorded under another spelling or as part of a compound name.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 39 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 71 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 61 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 196 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 606 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 535 |
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 Elder born?
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 6 | #2,267 | 1.2× |
| Texas | 6 | #2,354 | 0.5× |
Where Elder is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Elder is most over-represented in California: since 1910 it was given 1.2 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 boys’ 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 Elder 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 3 names spelled alike, given to 2,896 babies since 1880, Elder is the most given (80% of them). In 2025 it was given to 47 of their 54 babies (87%), again the most given.
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 Elder
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 Elder and names like it
- Compare Elder and EldorBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 2020sElder peaked in 2024.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Elder since 1910.
- The top names of 2024The year the most babies were named Elder.
- The names of Generation ZMost people named Elder alive today were born 1997-2012.
- Names starting with EMost given first.