Elaine
Masculine
Elaine is given to girls far more often — 262,890 girls against 653 boys since 1880. See Elaine as a girl name
Elaine reached English through French romance rather than through the church calendar, which is unusual for a name of this age and explains why it has no feast day and no saint. A Paris avenue with a similar opening is named after the Greek afterlife, which is a stranger thing to name a street than most people notice.
How old is the name Elaine?
Elaine first appears in US birth records in 1918 — 107 years ago. The typical Elaine alive today was born around 1943, making them about 82 years old. About 300 people named Elaine are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Elaine most popular?
Elaine peaked in 1941, reaching #1254 nationally. See the whole 1941 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Helene to Elaine
Our story of Elaine
The Champs-Élysées is the Elysian Fields. In Homer and Hesiod, Elysium is where a few favored people go instead of dying properly — a plain at the ends of the earth with an easy climate, reserved for heroes and relatives of the gods rather than for the virtuous, which is a quite different idea from a reward for good conduct. Later writers moved it underground and attached it to judgment. The Paris avenue got the name in the seventeenth century, when the marshy ground west of the Tuileries was laid out as a promenade and given a classical title in the fashion of the time. So the address of the presidential palace and the finish of the Tour de France is, in the original, the field where the dead lie about in perpetual mild weather.
Meaningnot established
Not established
It is the Old French form of Helen, whose own meaning is not recoverable: the torch and the moon readings offered for it are guesses attached later. A name that arrived through storytelling rather than through the liturgy carries no gloss of its own.
How the name formed
- Helene
- Elaine
Related forms: Élaine · Helen
Pronouncing Elaine
ee-LAYN
Two syllables with the stress at the back. Some families say uh-LAYN with a reduced first vowel, and both are heard without anybody noticing.
Nicknames for Elaine
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1918
- Most boys named
- 194128 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1254reached in 1941
- Change vs 1988
- −25.0%6 in 1989, from 8
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Elaine in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Élaine in French — same name
- Helen in English — related form
Elaines among us
people named Elaine are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Elaine sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- It is instantly recognizable without being common in any recent decade.
- Back stress gives a two-syllable name a firm landing.
- The spelling is stable and rarely needs correcting.
- Elayne, Elane and Alaine are all recorded and will be written for it.
- It has no agreed meaning, and the ones offered are guesses.
- The record holds this spelling for sons as well, though almost never.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Elaine to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Elaine? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Elaine
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Elaines are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 300 people named Elaine are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Elaine in 2025?
- Elaine is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Elaine with classmates?
- Elaine will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More E names
The most-given names starting with E, all years combined.
Edward#224 · Eric#273 · Ethan#24 · Eugene#943 · Elijah#7 · Ernest#1038 · Earl#2230 · Evan#153
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Elaine? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Elaine and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle