Elihu
Masculine · “He is my God”
Elihu is the fourth man to speak in the Book of Job, and he arrives unannounced after the other three have finished, argues for six chapters, and is never mentioned again. His name is a plain declaration: he is my God. It stood inside the American top five hundred and thirty-three in 1881.
How old is the name Elihu?
Elihu was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Elihu alive today was born around 1976, making them about 49 years old. About 700 people named Elihu are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Elihu most popular?
Elihu peaked in 1881, reaching #533 nationally. Today it ranks #6143, 5,610 places below that high. See the whole 1881 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Elihu to Elihu
The story of Elihu
The Elihu speeches in Job are a genuine puzzle for scholars: he is not introduced in the frame narrative, not mentioned in God's judgment at the end, and speaks in a style that some read as a later insertion. English-speaking Protestants took the name up regardless. Two Americans made it visible: Elihu Yale, a governor of Madras whose donation to a Connecticut college caused it to be renamed for him in 1718, and Elihu Root, Secretary of State and Nobel Peace Prize winner. American use peaked in the 1880s and has been rare since.
Meaning
He is my God
Hebrew Elihu joins eli, 'my God', to hu, 'he' — so the name states that this one, and not another, is God. It is the same theological structure as Elijah, 'my God is Yahweh', with a different second element. The derivation is settled. Several men in the Hebrew Bible carry the name, including Samuel's great-grandfather and one of David's officers.
How the name formed
- Elihu
- Elihu
Related forms: Elihu · Eliu
Pronouncing Elihu
ee-LY-hyoo
Three syllables, stress in the middle, with the long i of high. A second saying, EL-ih-hyoo with front stress, is also recorded. The Hebrew original stresses the last syllable, eh-lee-HOO.
Nicknames for Elihu
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
- 1880
- Most boys named
- 192826 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #533reached in 1881
- Change vs 2023
- −17.6%14 in 2025, from 17
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.
Elihu in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Elihu in Hebrew — same name
- Eliu in Spanish — spelling variant
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas.
Elihus among us
people named Elihu are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 122,005 born in 2025 was named Elihu
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Elihu sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Elihu beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Elihu in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The meaning is settled, direct and expressible in four words.
- Eli is a very popular name available inside it as a short form.
- It has two genuinely distinguished American bearers.
- Two stress patterns circulate in English use.
- The final syllable is unusual in English and gets misread.
- Its American curve is nineteenth-century, which places a bearer's generation.
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Elihu
Masculine · #6143 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Elihus are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 700 people named Elihu are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Elihu in 2025?
- Elihu ranks #6143 among US boy names in 2025, with 14 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Elihu?
- About 1 in every 122,005 US boys born in 2025 was named Elihu — 14 in all.
- Will my child share the name Elihu with classmates?
- Elihu will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Elihu
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Ruel#6143 · Cornell#6143 · Vasco#6143 · Kemper#6143 · Yates#6143 · Roark#6143 · Raja#6143 · Orville#6143
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Elihu? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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