Elmo
Masculine · “beloved”
Elmo is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 10,091 boys against 247 girls since 1880.
Elmo is a saint's nickname that ended up naming a weather phenomenon. St Elmo's fire — the blue glow on a ship's mast in a storm — is called after him, and sailors took it as a sign he was watching.
How old is the name Elmo?
Elmo was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Elmo alive today was born around 1926, making them about 99 years old. About 2,000 people named Elmo are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Elmo most popular?
Elmo peaked in 1909, reaching #247 nationally. See the whole 1909 chart.
Where it comes from
From erasmios to Elmo
The story of Elmo
Erasmus of Formia was a fourth-century bishop who became the patron saint of sailors, and Italian shortened his name to Elmo. The electrical discharge that appears on masts before or after a storm was named for him, because sailors read it as his protection. The name reached America through Italian and general Catholic use and appears in the registers through the nineteenth century, peaking around 1890.
Meaningscholars disagree
beloved
The usual account makes Elmo an Italian contraction of Erasmus, from the Greek erasmios, 'beloved' or 'desired'. A second reading derives it from the Germanic helm, 'helmet' or 'protection', through names like Anselmo. Both are current, and the saint's own name was recorded in several forms.
How the name formed
- erasmios
- Erasmus
- Elmo
Related forms: Elmo · Elmo · Erasmus · Elmo
Pronouncing Elmo
EL-moh
Two syllables, stress on the first. Italian, Spanish and Finnish all say it the same way.
Nicknames for Elmo
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
- 1920397 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #247reached in 1909
- Change vs 2009
- 0.0%5 in 2023, from 5
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.
Elmo in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Elmo in Italian — same name
- Elmo in Spanish — same name
- Erasmus in Dutch — related form
- Elmo in Finnish — same name
Elmos among us
people named Elmo 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
Elmo has already lived its whole cycle: it rose, had its era, and has stepped off the charts. The fashion question is behind it — what lies ahead is the waiting room where revivals begin, once a name's first generation has grown distant enough for it to sound fresh again.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- It carries a documented saint and a genuinely striking natural phenomenon named for him.
- It is a living name in Italian, Spanish and Finnish.
- Two clean syllables and no pronunciation risk in English.
- A children's television character of this name is the dominant association for anyone under fifty.
- The origin is split between a Greek and a Germanic reading.
- It is period-coded to the nineteenth century in American records.
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What they receive
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Elmo
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Elmos are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 2,000 people named Elmo are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Elmo in 2025?
- Elmo is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Elmo with classmates?
- Elmo 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 Elmo? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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