Elimelech
Masculine · “my God is king”
Elimelech is a name from the book of Ruth — the husband whose death sets the whole story moving — and it is a complete sentence in two words: my God is king. It has been in continuous Jewish use ever since.
How old is the name Elimelech?
Elimelech first appears in US birth records in 1967 — 58 years ago. The typical Elimelech alive today was born around 2010, making them about 15 years old. About 1,100 people named Elimelech are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Elimelech most popular?
Elimelech peaked in 2005, reaching #2701 nationally. Today it ranks #3181, 480 places below that high. See the whole 2005 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
The story of Elimelech
The book of Ruth opens with Elimelech leaving Bethlehem for Moab in a famine, and everything that follows — Naomi's return, Ruth's loyalty, the line that leads to David — proceeds from that departure. The name stayed in Jewish use through the medieval period and became particularly associated with Hasidic communities, where an eighteenth-century rebbe of that name is honored. American records show it chiefly in observant families, and it is one of the longer names in current use.
Meaning
my God is king
From the Hebrew elements for God, with the first-person possessive, and for a king; the same second element closes Malachi and Melech.
Pronouncing Elimelech
eh-lee-MEH-lekh
Four syllables with the stress on the third and a throaty final consonant. American English usually makes the last sound a k.
Nicknames for Elimelech
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
- 1967
- Most boys named
- 202448 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2701reached in 2005
- Change vs 2024
- −22.9%37 in 2025, from 48
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.
Elimelech in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Elimelekh in Hebrew — transliteration
- Melech in Yiddish — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: New York, New Jersey.
Elimelechs among us
people named Elimelech are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 46,164 born in 2025 was named Elimelech
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 Fergus test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Elimelech's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Fergus climbed just as high around 1918, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Fergus's path sketches the road Elimelech is walking now.
Elimelech 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
Where Elimelech is headed
Elimelech should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium 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.
Elimelech beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Elimelech in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A settled meaning that is a complete sentence, which very few names manage.
- Meilech and Eli are both established short forms with long histories of their own.
- Documented from the biblical text to the present with no gap in use.
- Nine letters and four syllables is a great deal for early handwriting and for American forms.
- The final consonant does not exist in English and will be flattened everywhere.
- It is very strongly marked as a community name, which is the intention in most families that choose it.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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Elimelech
Masculine · #3181 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Elimelechs are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,100 people named Elimelech are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Elimelech in 2025?
- Elimelech ranks #3181 among US boy names in 2025, with 37 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Elimelech?
- About 1 in every 46,164 US boys born in 2025 was named Elimelech — 37 in all.
- Will my child share the name Elimelech with classmates?
- Elimelech will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Elimelech
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Diamond#3181 · Walden#3181 · Tobin#3181 · Keion#3181 · Artem#3181 · Arsh#3181 · Kris#3181 · Esau#3181
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Elimelech? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Elimelech and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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