Elinor — #1501 US girls' name
21,496 babies named Elinor in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1920. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
More common than 92% of names given to girls today.
27% of everyone ever named Elinor was born in this single decade.
656 babies were named Elinor in 1920 — its busiest year on record.
What the Data Says About Elinor
The Social Security Administration has registered 21,496 babies named Elinor between 1880 and 2024, spanning 145 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a girl's name, Elinor currently holds the #1501 rank among girls for 2024. The name reached its historical peak in 1920, when 656 babies received it in a single year.
Decade-level aggregation shows that Elinor performed strongest in the 1920s, accumulating 5,761 births during that ten-year window. Across the 15 decades of recorded activity, Elinor shows a clear decline from its mid-century high. Geographically, the name is most concentrated in New York, which accounts for 2,713 births — the largest state-level total in the dataset — followed by Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. In total, SSA state-level files list Elinor in 44 of the 51 U.S. reporting jurisdictions.
No etymological entry is currently available for Elinor in our reference dataset. These figures derive from SSA's annual national and state-level name files, which include any name appearing at least five times in a given year or state-year; names below that threshold are suppressed for privacy and therefore excluded from the totals shown here. The 21,496 total represents a lower bound — actual usage may be higher in years or states where the count fell below the disclosure floor. This page is provided for informational and research purposes only and does not constitute personal, legal, or naming advice.
Elinor at a glance
Outside the top 1,000Peak year
Current rank
Active since
Elinor popularity over time
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 2024–1880
- Peak year (1920)
- 656
- Annual births at peak — across 145 years of records
Currently ranks #1501 among girls.
21,496 total births across 145 years of SSA records. Peaked in 1920 with 656 births in a single year.
Elinor by decade
Total births in each ten-year window — peak vs trough at a glance
- Peak decade
- 1920s
- 5,761 births that decade — 27% of Elinor's all-time total
Elinor decade highlights
- Peak decade 5,761 births
- Runner-up 4,010 births
- Modern era share 2010s + 2020s
- Decades tracked with recorded births
1920s was Elinor's strongest decade
5,761 babies received the name during that ten-year window — about 27% of all-time use.
Elinor by state
Where Elinor concentrates geographically — total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | New York | | 2,713 | 12.6% |
| #2 | Massachusetts | | 1,654 | 7.7% |
| #3 | Pennsylvania | | 1,477 | 6.9% |
| #4 | California | | 1,150 | 5.3% |
| #5 | Illinois | | 1,009 | 4.7% |
| #6 | Ohio | | 879 | 4.1% |
| #7 | New Jersey | | 731 | 3.4% |
| #8 | Michigan | | 653 | 3.0% |
2,713 of 21,496 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 44 reporting states.
Top 5 states
- New York 12.6% of nationwide
- Massachusetts 7.7% of nationwide
- Pennsylvania 6.9% of nationwide
- California 5.3% of nationwide
- Illinois 4.7% of nationwide
Recorded in 44 of 51 SSA jurisdictions
New York accounts for 12.6% of all recorded births nationwide — a relatively diffuse profile for this name.
Elinor appears in 44 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
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Data Sources
Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications — National Data, 1880–2024 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames). National-level data includes all names with 5 or more occurrences in a given year.
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names — State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip). Includes all names with 5 or more occurrences per state per year; rarer names are excluded for privacy.