Girls' name · since 1977

Elif

Elif has 1,534 recorded births since 1977 in federal Social Security data, most heavily in 2024 -- full year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state rankings follow.

#5,615 of 72,339
all-time among girls
#1,921 of 17,297
2025 SSA year
1,534
born since 1977
2010s
peak decade

1,534 babies have been named Elif since 1977, making it today's #1921 girls' name.

According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Elif has been recorded 1,534 times among girls since 1977, currently ranked #1921 nationally and more common than 89% of girls, with its heaviest use in the 2010s. This profile covers year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution, all derived directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1977 to 2025.

  • #5,615 of 72,339 all-time among girls
  • #1,921 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
  • 1,534 born since 1977
  • 2010s peak decade

Data updated Aug 2026

The verdict

According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Elif ranks #5,615 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #1,921 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 1,534 born since 1977, peaking in the 2010s.

#5,615 of 72,339
all-time among girls
#1,921 of 17,297
2025 SSA year
1,534
born since 1977
2010s
peak decade
0%100%Median name50%88.8%
Elif vs. every other girls name in current SSA rankings
Above the archive median
All-time archive position

Elif's 1,534 recorded births place it above 92.23% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.

12 jurisdictions
State-record footprint

12 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by New York.

How Elif compares

1,534 Top 26% higher than 74% of 17,297 names currently given to girls

Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked girls names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.

Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data

How the numbers stack up

Elif's all-time total is 4x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.

Metric Elif Median girls name (Kyann) #1 girls name (Olivia)
All-time total births 1,534 376 567,345
Peak-year births 115 21 19,840

Elif's usage pattern, beyond the headline number

Divide Elif's SSA record in two at 2004 and the more recent half accounts for 87% of all births, the earlier half the remaining 13%, consistent with a name still gaining ground rather than fading. Its calmest year was 1980, with only 5 births recorded -- set against the 2024 peak of 115, that's the full swing in one name's fortunes.

Elif popularity over time

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1977–2025

Outside the top 1,000
Peak year (2024)
115
Annual births at peak, across 49 years of records
050100150 197719881994200020062012201820242025 101

Elif by decade

2010s is the heaviest window (589 births, 38% of the file).

2010s was Elif's strongest decade.

589 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 38% of all-time use.

Elif births by decade

Total births in each ten-year window

births

What this shows Peak: 2010s at 589 births (38% of all-time use).

Source U.S. Social Security Administration · Baby Names As of August 2026

How Elif compares to similarly-sized names

Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 girls names closest to Elif's total volume

Elif vs 15 similarly-sized girls names Scatter plot of 16 data points. 0%10%20%30% 050100150200 New & already peakedOld name, single-era peakNew & still diversifyingLong history, steady all along Years in SSA records % of total births in the single peak year -18, 10.9%-58, 6.6%-54, 4%-56, 4.1%-131, 4.4%-37, 26.3%-116, 2.3%-36, 6.3%-36, 8.5%-144, 2.7%-58, 4.4%-20, 9.7%-55, 4.6%-70, 4.6%-146, 2.2%Elif-49, 7.5%Elif
Elif vs 15 similarly-sized girls names

Elif by state

Where Elif concentrates geographically, total births since 1977

Geographically diffuse
Top 8 states by recorded births for the name Elif
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 New York
238 15.5%
#2 California
116 7.6%
#3 New Jersey
111 7.2%
#4 Florida
80 5.2%
#5 Texas
78 5.1%
#6 Illinois
34 2.2%
#7 Pennsylvania
20 1.3%
#8 Virginia
16 1.0%
New York share of Elif's total US births 15.5%
Even split

238 of 1,534 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 12 reporting states.

Elif appears in 12 states. Explore state details →

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Elif?
Since 1977, Social Security records show 1,534 babies named Elif. Across the full SSA archive it ranks #5,615 of 72,339 girls' names by total births. In 2025, it holds #1,921 of 17,297 among girls. Its busiest year on record was 2024, with 115 births.
Where does Elif sit in the SSA name archive?
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Elif ranks #5,615 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #1,921 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. All-time ordinal matches browse popularity (total births DESC); the current ordinal uses the 2025 SSA file. See /methodology#corpus-placement.
When was Elif most popular?
Elif was most popular in the 2010s decade with 589 total births. The single peak year was 2024.
Where is Elif most popular?
The top states for the name Elif are New York (238 births), California (116 births), New Jersey (111 births).
How long has the name Elif been used?
Elif has been recorded in Social Security data since 1977, spanning 49 years of data through 2025.
What names are similar to Elif?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Elizabeth, Eliana, Elise, Eliza, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for girls.

What to do with Elif's data

  • Elif's usage has stayed within range of its 2010s decade-level peak (589 total births) through the 2020s (578) -- a comparatively stable name, not a fading trend.
  • New York records the most Elifs (238 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. New York names

Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.

Keep exploring Elif

Nearby Names Like Elif

Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Elif

Names with a similar popularity rank to Elif

Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span

Two nationwide peer axes for Elif: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.

Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.

Data Sources

Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).

According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.

Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1977–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).

State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).

Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Elif draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.