Namewise

Elias

maleBiblical Hebrew, via Greek

A form of Elijah, commonly interpreted as 'my God is Yahweh'.

Origin: Biblical Hebrew, via Greek

Official popularity data is available for 7 regions, from 1945 to 2025. Highest recorded position: #3 in Norway in 2023. See regions.

Elias: Recorded since 1945, it reached #3 in 2006, and it was still inside the top 100 in 2025.

ih-LY-us/ɪˈlaɪəs/

Data Confidence

Evidence: ModerateCompleteness: SubstantialEditorial review: 2026-07-21

Confidence in the evidencebehind this name's data — never a rating of the name itself, and never affected by how well it matches your preferences. How this is assessed

Because: backed by officially or academically authoritative sources, recently verified, popularity data covers multiple regions.

Source authority

Averaged from the real per-claim source-authority assessments already computed for this name's meaning/origin/pronunciation/popularity evidence.

Independent corroboration

Averaged from the real per-claim supporting-source counts already computed for this name's evidence.

See full evidence assessment (8 dimensions, 1 not yet tracked)
Source agreement

No recorded source disagreement for this name's meanings or origins.

Recency

Calculated from how long ago this record was last verified (2026-07-21), against a 270-day staleness threshold.

Geographic relevance

Calculated from the number of geographies with official popularity data (7) — broader official coverage means the evidence base is relevant to more of where the name is actually used.

Completeness

Calculated from how many of the expected data sections (variants, similar names, popularity, notable usage, IPA pronunciation) are actually populated for this name.

Direct observation vs. inference

Averaged from the real per-claim direct-observation-vs-inference ratios already computed for this name's evidence.

Identity & variant resolution quality

Cross-source identity and variant resolution requires HEKNO Knowledge, which isn't connected yet.

Name Characteristics

How these are calculated

Descriptive attributes of the name itself — not a confidence measurement, and not an overall quality score. Namewise doesn't approve or disapprove of names.

Pronunciation clarity

Editorial judgement of how consistently this name is pronounced correctly on first read, mapped from an easy/moderate/variable rating to a number. Describes the name — not a measure of evidence confidence.

Spelling simplicity

Calculated directly from the name's spelling: shorter names with fewer irregular letter clusters score higher. A disclosed formula, not an editorial opinion — and not a confidence measurement.

Recorded regional spread

Derived from how many geographies' official statistics record this name. It measures where the name is registered, not how well-known it feels to people living there.

International spread

Derived from the same official statistical coverage, scaled to reflect how widely the name crosses national datasets. Not a measure of how easily it is understood in another language.

Trend stability

Derived from the name's traditional/modern classification and its current popularity trend direction.

Overview

Origin
Biblical Hebrew, via Greek
Meaning
A form of Elijah, commonly interpreted as 'my God is Yahweh'.
Pronunciation
ih-LY-us
Syllables
2
Common nicknames
None recorded
Classification
Traditional & modern
Gender usage
male
Language family
Biblical Hebrew, via Greek

Popularity

Rising

among boys in England and Wales · 1996–2025

England and Wales · Boys rank from 1996 to 2025, ranging from #69 to #567.199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025#69#567
View as table
England and Wales · Boys rank by year
YearRank
1996#435
1997#567
1998#502
1999#371
2000#422
2001#365
2002#373
2003#406
2004#321
2005#365
2006#350
2007#351
2008#371
2009#319
2010#275
2011#246
2012#247
2013#230
2014#192
2015#189
2016#168
2017#129
2018#123
2019#117
2020#113
2021#109
2022#96
2023#96
2024#79
2025#69

VerifiedSource: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales.Confidence: high.

See all England and Wales names · Source: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales

What the data shows

RisingEngland and Wales · Boys

Recorded in official data among boys in Norway in 66 of the 81 years from 1945 to 2025.

In 2025: #4 among boys in Norway, #35 among boys in New South Wales, Australia, #69 among boys in England and Wales, #185 among boys in Republic of Ireland.

Official data from 7 national registrars across 7 regions, 19452025 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

  1. First recorded1945

    First recorded at #328 among boys in Norway in 1945 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.

    Norway · Boys

  2. Most recent2025

    Most recently recorded at #69 among boys in England and Wales, in 2025.

    England and Wales · Boys

See full popularity history and data table

Meaning & Origin

A form of Elijah, commonly interpreted as 'my God is Yahweh'.

VerifiedSource: Behind the Name.Confidence: medium.

Biblical Hebrew, via Greek

VerifiedSource: Behind the Name.Confidence: medium.

Other names with a researched meaning and origin →

Where Elias is officially recorded

7 official registrars have recorded Elias, between 1945 and 2025, in 66 of those 81 years. Each registrar publishes for its own population on its own methodology, so the positions below are each one country's own ranking and are not comparable with one another.

RegistrarRecordedYearsIts own highest position
Norway1945–202566#3 in 2006
England and Wales1996–202530#69 in 2025
Republic of Ireland2002–202521#185 in 2025
Northern Ireland2008–202413#187 in 2024
New South Wales, Australia2019–20257#35 in 2025
New Zealand20231#80 in 2023
Scotland20241#199 in 2024

Its high point came 19 years earlier in Norway (2006) than in England and Wales (2025).

No registrar recorded it for 4 years after 1946; it appears again in 1951.

Variants

No spelling variants or nicknames recorded yet.

Similar Names

No similar names recorded yet for this name.

Similarity is a demonstration score — see methodology.

Spelling

Spelling simplicity

Calculated directly from the name's spelling — see Name Characteristics above.

No commonly used alternate spellings recorded.

Pronunciation

ih-LY-us/ɪˈlaɪəs/
Syllables
2
Ease
easy

VerifiedSource: Behind the Name.Confidence: medium.

Where Elias Is Recorded

National statistical agencies have recorded Elias in these places. This shows where the name is used — not where it comes from, and not that it carries particular cultural significance there.

New South Wales, AustraliaEngland and WalesNorthern IrelandScotlandRepublic of IrelandNorwayNew Zealand

Notable Usage

No safely-sourced notable usage recorded for this name yet.

Sibling & Surname Compatibility

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Full sibling-set and initials-across-a-shortlist matching is a planned premium feature — see Premium.