Elin
Elin was given to 53 girls in 2025, #3,077 among girls’ names; 5,204 Americans have been recorded with it since 1893 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 4,780 Americans named Elin and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (92% of everyone recorded); the median is 13 years old and half are between 9 and 16.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Elin by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Elin mean?
Wiktionary, Swedish section
Elin is “a female given name”
Medieval vernacular form of Helena (originally pronounced without the h in Swedish). First recorded in Sweden in the 14th century. Comparable to English Ellen.
Meaning: Wiktionary, Swedish section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Elin?
#3,077 among girls’ names, 2025
Elin fell from #923 in 2015 to #3,077 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born fell from 0.17 to 0.03 per 1,000.
428 babies in 2011, the peak
Elin peaked in 2011, when 428 girls were given it, #662 among girls’ names. The 53 births of 2025 are 12% of that peak.
Births by sex.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 53 | #3,077 | 0.03 |
| 2024 | 70 | #2,538 | 0.04 |
| 2023 | 74 | #2,427 | 0.05 |
| 2022 | 90 | #2,126 | 0.05 |
| 2021 | 133 | #1,578 | 0.08 |
| 2020 | 133 | #1,581 | 0.08 |
| 2019 | 177 | #1,296 | 0.11 |
| 2018 | 201 | #1,190 | 0.12 |
| 2017 | 227 | #1,111 | 0.13 |
| 2016 | 267 | #991 | 0.15 |
Every recorded year (120)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 297 | #923 | 0.17 |
| 2014 | 384 | #732 | 0.21 |
| 2013 | 329 | #817 | 0.19 |
| 2012 | 336 | #797 | 0.19 |
| 2011 | 428 | #662 | 0.24 |
| 2010 | 386 | #726 | 0.22 |
| 2009 | 61 | #2,859 | 0.03 |
| 2008 | 65 | #2,778 | 0.03 |
| 2007 | 58 | #3,027 | 0.03 |
| 2006 | 45 | #3,522 | 0.02 |
| 2005 | 39 | #3,752 | 0.02 |
| 2004 | 39 | #3,698 | 0.02 |
| 2003 | 17 | #6,676 | 0.01 |
| 2002 | 17 | #6,472 | 0.01 |
| 2001 | 15 | #7,065 | 0.01 |
| 2000 | 13 | #7,706 | 0.01 |
| 1999 | 10 | #8,980 | 0.01 |
| 1998 | 11 | #8,158 | 0.01 |
| 1997 | 10 | #8,536 | 0.01 |
| 1996 | 13 | #6,839 | 0.01 |
| 1995 | 15 | #6,047 | 0.01 |
| 1994 | 17 | #5,517 | 0.01 |
| 1993 | 16 | #5,746 | 0.01 |
| 1992 | 13 | #6,754 | 0.01 |
| 1991 | 16 | #5,738 | 0.01 |
| 1990 | 22 | #4,410 | 0.01 |
| 1989 | 10 | #7,600 | 0.01 |
| 1988 | 11 | #6,780 | 0.01 |
| 1987 | 16 | #4,912 | 0.01 |
| 1986 | 15 | #5,024 | 0.01 |
| 1985 | 16 | #4,689 | 0.01 |
| 1984 | 17 | #4,371 | 0.01 |
| 1983 | 10 | #6,354 | 0.01 |
| 1982 | 23 | #3,557 | 0.01 |
| 1981 | 11 | #5,993 | 0.01 |
| 1980 | 16 | #4,575 | 0.01 |
| 1979 | 15 | #4,681 | 0.01 |
| 1978 | 12 | #5,295 | 0.01 |
| 1977 | 10 | #5,999 | 0.01 |
| 1976 | 14 | #4,419 | 0.01 |
| 1975 | 11 | #5,244 | 0.01 |
| 1974 | 14 | #4,292 | 0.01 |
| 1973 | 7 | #6,866 | under 0.01 |
| 1972 | 14 | #4,146 | 0.01 |
| 1970 | 14 | #4,098 | 0.01 |
| 1969 | 10 | #4,803 | 0.01 |
| 1968 | 7 | #5,805 | under 0.01 |
| 1967 | 8 | #5,113 | under 0.01 |
| 1966 | 6 | #6,006 | under 0.01 |
| 1965 | 12 | #3,798 | 0.01 |
| 1964 | 17 | #3,152 | 0.01 |
| 1963 | 7 | #5,481 | under 0.01 |
| 1962 | 18 | #2,956 | 0.01 |
| 1961 | 12 | #3,838 | 0.01 |
| 1960 | 12 | #3,759 | 0.01 |
| 1959 | 15 | #3,150 | 0.01 |
| 1958 | 13 | #3,423 | 0.01 |
| 1957 | 9 | #4,314 | under 0.01 |
| 1956 | 12 | #3,546 | 0.01 |
| 1955 | 12 | #3,435 | 0.01 |
| 1954 | 15 | #2,925 | 0.01 |
| 1953 | 12 | #3,323 | 0.01 |
| 1952 | 14 | #2,958 | 0.01 |
| 1951 | 18 | #2,411 | 0.01 |
| 1950 | 18 | #2,370 | 0.01 |
| 1949 | 10 | #3,449 | 0.01 |
| 1948 | 23 | #2,024 | 0.01 |
| 1947 | 21 | #2,159 | 0.01 |
| 1946 | 15 | #2,508 | 0.01 |
| 1945 | 17 | #2,089 | 0.01 |
| 1944 | 15 | #2,316 | 0.01 |
| 1943 | 21 | #1,915 | 0.02 |
| 1942 | 16 | #2,240 | 0.01 |
| 1941 | 14 | #2,295 | 0.01 |
| 1940 | 12 | #2,458 | 0.01 |
| 1939 | 10 | #2,774 | 0.01 |
| 1938 | 13 | #2,368 | 0.01 |
| 1937 | 6 | #3,927 | 0.01 |
| 1936 | 11 | #2,567 | 0.01 |
| 1935 | 6 | #3,883 | 0.01 |
| 1934 | 6 | #3,946 | 0.01 |
| 1933 | 7 | #3,515 | 0.01 |
| 1932 | 8 | #3,361 | 0.01 |
| 1930 | 10 | #2,906 | 0.01 |
| 1929 | 10 | #2,986 | 0.01 |
| 1928 | 8 | #3,522 | 0.01 |
| 1927 | 8 | #3,635 | 0.01 |
| 1926 | 8 | #3,663 | 0.01 |
| 1925 | 9 | #3,452 | 0.01 |
| 1924 | 6 | #4,627 | under 0.01 |
| 1923 | 8 | #3,730 | 0.01 |
| 1922 | 9 | #3,459 | 0.01 |
| 1921 | 12 | #2,823 | 0.01 |
| 1920 | 7 | #4,094 | 0.01 |
| 1919 | 9 | #3,281 | 0.01 |
| 1918 | 9 | #3,322 | 0.01 |
| 1917 | 10 | #2,944 | 0.01 |
| 1916 | 14 | #2,283 | 0.01 |
| 1915 | 7 | #3,532 | 0.01 |
| 1914 | 13 | #1,936 | 0.02 |
| 1913 | 8 | #2,388 | 0.01 |
| 1912 | 6 | #2,729 | 0.01 |
| 1911 | 6 | #2,273 | 0.01 |
| 1910 | 5 | #2,523 | 0.01 |
| 1909 | 7 | #1,818 | 0.02 |
| 1908 | 6 | #1,923 | 0.02 |
| 1907 | 6 | #1,892 | 0.02 |
| 1904 | 6 | #1,717 | 0.02 |
| 1894 | 5 | #1,550 | 0.02 |
| 1893 | 9 | #1,036 | 0.04 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Elin a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 5,204 Americans recorded as Elin, 97% are girls and 3% boys. In 2025 it went to 53 girls; SSA lists no boys 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 Elin: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Elin, and how old are they?
4,780 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 92% of the 5,204 Americans ever recorded as Elin. The median Elin alive today is 13 years old; half are between 9 and 16.
The 2020 Census counted 5,072 people named Elin (4,759 women and girls, 313 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 4,309 born in the U.S. The Census count is 18% above 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 | 68 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 209 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 158 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 239 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 1,590 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 2,510 |
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 Elin born?
The states with the most babies named Elin are California, Minnesota and Georgia, with 100% of its births recorded by state in 2025; Minnesota is not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 7 | #2,564 | 0.7× |
| Minnesota | 6 | #760 | 3.4× |
| Georgia | 5 | #1,597 | 0.6× |
Where Elin is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Elin is most over-represented in Minnesota: since 1910 it was given 3.4 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 Elin 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 287,768 babies since 1880, Elin is the second most given (1.8% of them). In 2025 it was given to 53 of their 333 babies (16%), again the second 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 Elin
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 Elin and names like it
- Compare Elin and EllenBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 2010sElin peaked in 2011.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Elin since 1910.
- Swedish namesWiktionary’s origin for Elin: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 2011The year the most babies were named Elin.
- The names of Generation AlphaMost people named Elin alive today were born 2013-2025.
- Names starting with EMost given first.