Boys' name · since 1982
Elkanah
Since 1982, U.S. Social Security records show 58 babies named Elkanah, peaking in 2019. See the year-by-year trend, decade totals, and state rankings below, sourced from federal birth data.
- #21,103 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #11,038 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 58
- born since 1982
- 2020s
- peak decade
Elkanah currently ranks #11038 among boys' names in America, with 58 babies recorded since 1982.
Social Security Administration records show Elkanah recorded 58 times among boys since 1982, holding rank #11038 nationally today, ahead of 21% of boys, peaking in the 2020s. This profile derives year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1982 to 2025.
- #21,103 of 45,481 all-time among boys
- #11,038 of 13,930 2025 SSA year
- 58 born since 1982
- 2020s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Elkanah ranks #21,103 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #11,038 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. 58 born since 1982, peaking in the 2020s.
- #21,103 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #11,038 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 58
- born since 1982
- 2020s
- peak decade
Elkanah's 58 recorded births place it above 53.4% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.
No state rows cleared SSA’s public reporting threshold for this name.
How Elkanah compares
58 18th percentile among 13,930 names currently given to boys
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked boys 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
Elkanah's all-time total is 84% below the median boys name, and Liam still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Elkanah | Median boys name (Takari) | #1 boys name (Liam) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 58 | 369 | 358,536 |
| Peak-year births | 7 | 34 | 22,252 |
Elkanah's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Elkanah's full recorded timeline at 2019, 55% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 45% in the earlier half -- a fairly even split across the full record. Its quietest year on record was 1982, with just 5 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 2019 peak of 7 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Elkanah popularity over time
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1982–2025
- Peak year (2019)
- 7
- Annual births at peak, across 44 years of records
Elkanah by decade
2020s is the heaviest window (25 births, 43% of the file).
2020s was Elkanah's strongest decade.
25 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 43% of all-time use.
Elkanah births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1980s 5
1980s
5 births
- 2000s 5
2000s
5 births
- 2010s
2010s
23 births
- 2020s
2020s
25 births
What this shows Peak: 2020s at 25 births (43% of all-time use).
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Elkanah? ▼
Where does Elkanah sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Elkanah most popular? ▼
How long has the name Elkanah been used? ▼
What names are similar to Elkanah? ▼
Keep exploring Elkanah
Nearby Names Like Elkanah
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Elkanah
Compare Elkanah side by side: Elkanah vs Elkin Elkanah vs Elkan Elkanah vs Elkins
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Elkanah
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Elkanah: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~2019)
Similar record span (~43 yrs)
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, 1982–2025 (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 Elkanah 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.