Eloy
Masculine · “chosen”
Eloy comes from a Latin word for chosen, and the man who carried it was a goldsmith before he was a bishop — which is why he ended up the patron saint of metalworkers, farriers and, eventually, of anyone who works with their hands.
How old is the name Eloy?
Eloy first appears in US birth records in 1908 — 117 years ago. The typical Eloy alive today was born around 1973, making them about 52 years old. About 6,200 people named Eloy are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Eloy most popular?
Eloy peaked in 1946, reaching #700 nationally. Today it ranks #2991, 2,291 places below that high. See the whole 1946 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From eligere to Eloy
The story of Eloy
Eligius was a seventh-century goldsmith at the Frankish court who became bishop of Noyon and a missionary in Flanders. His trade made him the patron of goldsmiths, blacksmiths, farriers and horses, and his feast was a working man's holiday across France and Spain for centuries — the guilds kept it. The name became Éloi in France and Eloy in Spain, and it reaches United States records almost entirely from Mexican and Spanish families, where it has been steadily used.
Meaning
chosen
Latin Eligius is built on eligere, 'to choose, to select' — the same verb behind elect and eligible. The reading is documented. French shortened Eligius to Éloi and Spanish to Eloy, and both are the same name; the loss of the ending is a normal Romance development rather than a corruption.
How the name formed
- eligere
- Eligius
- Eloy
Related forms: Éloi · Eloy · Elói · Eligius
Pronouncing Eloy
eh-LOY
Two syllables with the stress on the second in Spanish. French Éloi is ay-LWAH, with a quite different ending. English speakers say EE-loy or eh-LOY, and the second is closer.
Nicknames for Eloy
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
- 1908
- Most boys named
- 1971109 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #700reached in 1946
- Change vs 2023
- +2.5%41 in 2025, from 40
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.
Eloy in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Éloi in French — same name
- Eloy in Spanish — same name
- Elói in Portuguese — same name
- Eligius in Latin — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, California, Florida.
Eloys among us
people named Eloy are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 41,660 born in 2025 was named Eloy
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Eloy
- #2991
- Eloy on the 2025 chart
- #877
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Eloy went to 41 boys in 2025, but Eloi is the same name said out loud. Together the 2 spellings went to 51, which makes it the 877th most-given boys’ name of the year — 2,114 places above the chart.
- Eloy41
- Eloi10
About 1 boy in 33,492 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 41,660 for Eloy 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 Masao test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Eloy's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Masao climbed just as high around 1918, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Masao's path sketches the road Eloy is walking now.
Eloy 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 Eloy is headed
Eloy 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.
Eloy beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Eloy in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A documented Latin origin with a clear and unusual meaning — chosen.
- Four letters, no silent ones, and easy for English speakers once heard.
- A genuinely interesting saint behind it, and a working one rather than a martyr.
- English speakers often stress the first syllable, which changes the name.
- Eloy and Éloi are the same name and look entirely unrelated.
- Outside Spanish-speaking communities it is unfamiliar enough to be spelled out.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Eloy to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Eloy? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Eloy
Masculine · #2991 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Eloys are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 6,200 people named Eloy are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Eloy?
- Eloy is the most-used spelling in US records — 41 of the 51 babies given the name in 2025. The others recorded are Eloi.
- How popular is the name Eloy in 2025?
- Eloy ranks #2991 among US boy names in 2025, with 41 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Eloy?
- About 1 in every 41,660 US boys born in 2025 was named Eloy — 41 in all.
- Will my child share the name Eloy with classmates?
- Eloy will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Eloy
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Roran#2991 · Izaak#2991 · Nyle#2991 · Levin#2991 · Tilden#2991 · Hanson#2991 · Breck#2991 · Oswaldo#2991
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Eloy? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Eloy and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle