Elara
Feminine · Greek roots
Elara comes out of Greek myth, where it is the name of a mortal woman loved by Zeus and mother of the giant Tityos. In 1905 astronomers gave the name to one of Jupiter's outer moons, and it has orbited quietly out there ever since. Three syllables, all vowels and soft consonants, with Ella, Lara and Clara audible inside it.
How old is the name Elara?
Elara first appears in US birth records in 2002 — 23 years ago. The typical Elara is a kid of about 4 — this name's wave is very recent. About 1,800 people named Elara are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Elara most popular?
Elara peaked in 2025, reaching #941 nationally. Today it ranks #941, exactly where it peaked. See the whole 2025 chart.
Where it comes from
From Ἐλάρα (Greek) to Elara
The story of Elara
The name is Greek and old, attached in mythology to Elara, a mortal woman whom Zeus hid underground and who bore the giant Tityos. Ancient writers pass her name along without explaining it, so it survives as a name rather than a word. It resurfaced in a very different setting in 1905, when a small outer moon of Jupiter was discovered and eventually given her name, joining the other satellites named for Zeus's loves. English-speaking parents only began using it as a given name in the last couple of decades, and its rise here has been steep and recent — a name with an ancient record and an almost entirely young set of American bearers.
Meaningnot established
Not established
No agreed translation exists for the Greek Ἐλάρα. What is documented is the name itself: it belongs to a figure in Greek mythology, recorded by ancient authors, and was later given to a moon of Jupiter. Attempts to tie it to the Greek word for olive are guesses rather than established etymology.
How the name formed
- ἘλάραGreek
- ElaraLatin
- ElaraEnglish
Related forms: Ελάρα · Elara
Pronouncing Elara
uh-LAR-uh
The stress sits on the middle syllable. Some families say eh-LAR-uh and a few say EL-uh-ruh; all three are heard in the US, so it is worth deciding early which one you will correct people toward.
Nicknames for Elara
High
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
- 2002
- Most girls named
- 2025275 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #941reached in 2025
- Change vs 2024
- +31.6%275 in 2025, from 209
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.
Elara in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Ελάρα in Greek — transliteration
- Elara in Latin — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, New York.
Elaras among us
people named Elara are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 5,845 born in 2025 was named Elara
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Kacy test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Elara's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Kacy climbed just as high around 1987, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Kacy's path sketches the road Elara is walking now.
Elara is climbing fast right now. Steep climbs tend to come with steep descents — the quicker a name arrives, the more firmly it belongs to its moment.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Elara is headed
Elara should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind. Its history is short or jumpy, though, so read this as a sketch rather than a promise.
Low confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Elara beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Elara in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Every short form it yields — Ellie, Ella, Lara — is already an established name in English, so a child has ready-made informal options.
- Spelled the way it sounds once heard, with no silent letters or doubled consonants.
- An ancient name with a documented mythological record, so it is genuinely old rather than newly coined.
- Uncommon enough in classrooms that a child is unlikely to share it, while sounding familiar alongside Clara, Ella and Nora.
- Pronunciation is not settled. uh-LAR-uh dominates, but eh-LAR-uh and EL-uh-ruh both circulate, and she will likely spend some of her life supplying the correct one.
- It sits close to Elora, Eliora, Alara and Elena, so expect a share of misheard spellings over the phone and on forms.
- This is a name on a fast climb. It is rare in schools now, but the trajectory suggests a girl born today may meet more Elaras as she grows than the current numbers imply.
- The myth behind it is bleak: Elara is hidden away by Zeus and dies bearing a giant. Most people who meet the name will think of the Jupiter moon, or of nothing in particular, but the story is there if anyone looks.
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What they receive
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Elara
Feminine · Greek roots · #941 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Elaras are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,800 people named Elara are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Elara in 2025?
- Elara ranks #941 among US girl names in 2025, with 275 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Elara?
- About 1 in every 5,845 US girls born in 2025 was named Elara — 275 in all.
- Will my child share the name Elara with classmates?
- Elara will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Elara
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Darla#941 · Zaria#943 · Tallulah#939 · Saanvi#943 · Mariella#943 · Ayra#939 · Alianna#938 · Kimber#936
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Elara? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Elara and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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