Total births
21,640
Girls' name · since 1880
Elinor
21,640 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.
- #1493
- among girls today
- 21,640
- born since 1880
- 1920s
- peak decade
- 92%
- more common than other girls
Elinor currently ranks #1493 among girls' names in America, with 21,640 babies recorded since 1880.
Elinor has 21,640 recorded births among girls since 1880, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #1493 as of the latest data, more common than 92% of girls, busiest in the 1920s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.
- #1493 among girls today
- 21,640 born since 1880
- 1920s peak decade
- 92% more common than other girls
Data updated Jun 2026
The verdict
Elinor is currently the #1493 girls' name in America, more common than 92% of girls - 21,640 born since 1880, peaking in the 1920s.
- #1493
- among girls today
- 21,640
- born since 1880
- 1920s
- peak decade
- 92%
- more common than other girls
Elinor vs. every other girls name in current SSA rankings
#1493
of 17,726 girls in use
More common than 92% of names given to girls today.
1920s
Peak decade
27% of everyone ever named Elinor was born in this single decade.
1920
Single peak year
656 babies were named Elinor in 1920 - its busiest year on record.
How Elinor compares
21,640 Top 6% higher than 94% of 17,726 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
Elinor's all-time total is 57x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Elinor | Median girls name (Emerly) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 21,640 | 382 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 656 | 48 | 19,840 |
Elinor's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Elinor's full recorded timeline at 1953, 23% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 77% in the earlier half -- the name was more prevalent in its earlier era than it is today. Its quietest year on record was 1883, with just 7 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 1920 peak of 656 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Elinor at a glance
Outside the top 1,000Peak year
1920
Current rank
#1,493
Active since
1880
Elinor popularity over time
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025
- Peak year (1920)
- 656
- Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
Elinor by decade
Total births in each ten-year window, peak vs trough at a glance
1920s was Elinor's strongest decade.
5,761 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 27% of all-time use.
Elinor births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 137
1880s
137 births
- 1890s 277
1890s
277 births
- 1900s 656
1900s
656 births
- 1910s
1910s
4,010 births
- 1920s
1920s
5,761 births
- 1930s
1930s
3,762 births
- 1940s 1,829
1940s
1,829 births
- 1950s 836
1950s
836 births
- 1960s 417
1960s
417 births
- 1970s 217
1970s
217 births
- 1980s 232
1980s
232 births
- 1990s 405
1990s
405 births
- 2000s 733
2000s
733 births
- 2010s 1,424
2010s
1,424 births
- 2020s 944
2020s
944 births
What this shows Peak: 1920s at 5,761 births (27% of all-time use).
How Elinor 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 Elinor's total volume
Elinor vs 15 similarly-sized girls names
Elinor by state
Where Elinor concentrates geographically, total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | New York | | 2,725 | 12.6% |
| #2 | Massachusetts | | 1,659 | 7.7% |
| #3 | Pennsylvania | | 1,477 | 6.8% |
| #4 | California | | 1,162 | 5.4% |
| #5 | Illinois | | 1,009 | 4.7% |
| #6 | Ohio | | 884 | 4.1% |
| #7 | New Jersey | | 731 | 3.4% |
| #8 | Michigan | | 653 | 3.0% |
New York share of Elinor's total US births 12.6%
Even split
2,725 of 21,640 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 44 reporting states.
Elinor appears in 44 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Elinor? ▼
Since 1880, Social Security records show 21,640 babies named Elinor. Today it holds rank #1493 among girls. Its busiest year on record was 1920, with 656 births.
When was Elinor most popular? ▼
Elinor was most popular in the 1920s decade with 5,761 total births. The single peak year was 1920.
Where is Elinor most popular? ▼
The top states for the name Elinor are New York (2,725 births), Massachusetts (1,659 births), Pennsylvania (1,477 births).
How long has the name Elinor been used? ▼
The SSA has tracked Elinor since 1880 -- 146 years through the most recent 2025 data.
What names are similar to Elinor? ▼
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 Elinor's data
- Elinor's decade-level peak was the 1920s (5,761 total births); usage has since declined to 944 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- New York records the most Elinors (2,725 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. New York names
- Weighing it against an alternative? Put two names side by side. Compare names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Elinor
Nearby Names Like Elinor
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Elinor
Elizabeth Girl
#17 1,688,757 births
Eliana Girl
#18 76,104 births
Elise Girl
#251 75,186 births
Eliza Girl
#118 70,569 births
Elisabeth Girl
#908 48,018 births
Compare Elinor side by side: Elinor vs Elizabeth Elinor vs Eliana Elinor vs Elise
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Elinor
Theresa #1492
404,613 births · Peak 1961
Erica #1494
231,613 births · Peak 1986
Navi #1491
1,572 births · Peak 2025
Marissa #1495
120,842 births · Peak 1994
Journei #1490
2,301 births · Peak 2021
Emryn #1496
1,005 births · Peak 2023
Liyana #1489
1,681 births · Peak 2025
Rosalynn #1497
3,533 births · Peak 2020
Data Sources
Data as of June 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, 1880–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Cite this page
NameAlmanac Editorial. "Elinor: #1493 Girls' Name - 21,640 Births, Peak 1920." NameAlmanac. Accessed via https://namealmanac.com/name/elinor. Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
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 Elinor 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 June 2026.