Elliott
Masculine
Elliott is given to both — 62,551 boys and 8,168 girls since 1880. See Elliott as a girl nameSee other names given to both
Elliott began as a surname, and behind that surname stands the prophet Elijah — carried into medieval England as Elias and worn down in everyday speech to Elyot. The three syllables land softly, with the stress up front and the ending unhurried, which is part of why it has never sounded old-fashioned for long. It has been on American records for as long as American given names have been counted, and it is still being handed to babies now.
How old is the name Elliott?
Elliott was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Elliott alive today was born around 2010, making them about 15 years old. About 54,000 people named Elliott are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Elliott most popular?
Elliott peaked in 2020, reaching #158 nationally. Today it ranks #160, 2 places below that high. See the whole 2020 chart.
Where it comes from
From Eliyahu to Elliott
The story of Elliott
Elijah reached western Europe as Elias, through the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible and then the Latin one, and medieval English speakers clipped and softened it into Elyot. Names like that hardened into hereditary surnames in England and along the Scottish border, where Elliot became one of the great riding-clan names of the frontier country. The surname then did what English surnames do: it came back around as a first name, and the two-t spelling settled in as one of three respectable options alongside Eliot and Elliot. In the United States it has moved without drama — never absent, never a craze — and picked up new associations along the way, among them the songwriter Elliott Smith.
Meaningscholars disagree
From a medieval English form of Elias — that is, Elijah, Hebrew for "my God is Yahweh"
The main line is clear: the surname Elliott comes from Elyot/Eliot, a medieval English pet form of Elias, the Greek and Latin spelling of Elijah. A smaller share of Elliott families trace instead to the Old English personal name Ælfwald, "elf-ruler." Both routes are documented, and a given Elliott today can honestly claim either.
Cultural footprint
Elliott Smith (b. 1969) — Indie songwriting legend ("Miss Misery")
Elliott Gould (b. 1938) — M*A*S*H star
Source: Wikidata — the one source on this page that is not an official agency.
How the name formed
- Eliyahu
- Elias
- Elyot
- Eliot
- Elliott
Related forms: Elliot · Eliot · Elias · Élie · Eliyahu · Ilyas
Pronouncing Elliott
EL-ee-ut
Stress on the first syllable. All three spellings — Elliott, Elliot, Eliot — are said the same way, and the final syllable is a light "ut," not "ott."
Nicknames for Elliott
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
- 1880
- Most boys named
- 20192,453 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #158reached in 2020
- Change vs 2022
- +2.4%2,287 in 2025, from 2,233
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.
Elliott in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Elliot in English — spelling variant
- Eliot in English — spelling variant
- Elias in German, Scandinavian — related form
- Élie in French — related form
- Eliyahu in Hebrew — transliteration
- Ilyas in Arabic — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, California, Ohio.
Elliotts among us
people named Elliott are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 747 born in 2025 was named Elliott
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Elliott
- #160
- Elliott on the 2025 chart
- #69
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Elliott went to 2,287 boys in 2025, but Elliot, Eliot and Eliott are the same name said out loud. Together the 4 spellings went to 4,894, which makes it the 69th most-given boys’ name of the year — 91 places above the chart.
About 1 boy in 349 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 747 for Elliott itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Cesar test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Elliott's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Cesar climbed just as high around 2004, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Cesar's path sketches the road Elliott is walking now.
Elliott 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 Elliott is headed
Elliott should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
High 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.
Elliott beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Elliott in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- An unbroken presence in American records since counting began, without ever spiking into a fashion — the curve beside you is unusually level for a name this familiar.
- Instantly recognizable and easy to say on first hearing, with no pronunciation to teach anyone.
- Eli is a ready-made short form that stands on its own, so the name comes with a built-in casual register.
- Works across languages through its Elias/Elijah relatives — Élie in French, Elias in German and Scandinavian, Ilyas in Arabic.
- Reads as a surname as well as a first name, which suits family-name honoring.
- Three spellings compete — Elliott, Elliot, Eliot — and all three are legitimate. Expect a lifetime of "two Ls and two Ts," and of mail arriving with one of each.
- For a girl, this is the same surname traveling the other way rather than a separate name, and most people will assume a boy on paper. That is workable, but worth deciding on deliberately rather than being surprised by it.
- The short form Eli sits in a crowded neighborhood with Eli, Elijah and Elias, so an Elliott who goes by Eli may not be the only one in the room even if the full name is.
- It is long enough that some people will shorten it without asking. If you want the full three syllables used, you will be repeating that request now and then.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Elliott
Masculine · #160 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Elliotts are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 54,000 people named Elliott are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Elliott?
- Elliott is one of 4 recorded spellings. Elliot is the more common one — 2,417 births in 2025 against 2,287 for Elliott.
- How popular is the name Elliott in 2025?
- Elliott ranks #160 among US boy names in 2025, with 2,287 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Elliott?
- About 1 in every 747 US boys born in 2025 was named Elliott — 2,287 in all.
- Will my child share the name Elliott with classmates?
- Elliott will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Elliott
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Hayden#161 · Juan#159 · Ivan#162 · Hayes#162 · Diego#158 · Colter#157 · Ace#164 · Jaxson#156
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Elliott? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Elliott and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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