Elvira
Feminine
Elvira is overwhelmingly a girls’ name — 27,234 girls against 44 boys since 1880.
Elvira is a Visigothic name that Spain kept. It appears in tenth-century Castilian charters, long before the operas and the plays that made it famous, and its elements are argued about to this day.
How old is the name Elvira?
Elvira was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Elvira alive today was born around 1930, making them about 95 years old. About 11,000 people named Elvira are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Elvira most popular?
Elvira peaked in 1914, reaching #254 nationally. Today it ranks #1710, 1,456 places below that high. See the whole 1914 chart.
Elvira appears on these lists:
Where it comes from
From Gelvira to Elvira
The story of Elvira
Elvira appears in Castilian and Leonese records from the tenth century, borne by royal women of the Visigothic-descended aristocracy, and it stayed a Spanish staple. Mozart gave it to a central character in Don Giovanni, Verdi and Bellini used it, and Byron put an Elvira in Don Juan. American use rose through the nineteenth century and peaked around 1890.
Meaningscholars disagree
Not established
From a Visigothic name recorded in medieval Spanish documents, generally read as containing a Germanic element meaning 'all' or 'noble' plus one meaning 'true' or 'guard'. No reading is established; the Gothic sources are too thin. What is documented is the name's continuous Spanish use since the tenth century.
How the name formed
- Gelvira
- Elvira
Related forms: Elvira · Elvira · Elvira · Elvira
Pronouncing Elvira
el-VY-ruh
Three syllables, stress in the middle. Spanish and Italian say el-VEE-ra with a different middle vowel.
Nicknames for Elvira
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 girls named
- 1924579 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #254reached in 1914
- Change vs 2022
- +75.0%119 in 2025, from 68
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.
Elvira in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Elvira in Spanish — same name
- Elvira in Italian — same name
- Elvira in German — same name
- Elvira in Hungarian — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Florida.
Elviras among us
people named Elvira are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 13,506 born in 2025 was named Elvira
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
Elvira is on its second act. Revived names age gently: the generation that wore them first is far enough away that the name feels classic rather than dated.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Elvira is headed
Elvira 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.
Elvira beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Elvira in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A documented thousand-year Spanish record, which very few names can match.
- It is spelled identically in Spanish, Italian, German and Hungarian.
- Three syllables with a strong middle, a rhythm that carries well.
- The Gothic elements are genuinely unrecovered.
- The English and Spanish pronunciations differ in the stressed vowel.
- A 1980s television horror hostess is a strong American association.
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What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Elvira
Feminine · #1710 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Elviras are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 11,000 people named Elvira are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Elvira in 2025?
- Elvira ranks #1710 among US girl names in 2025, with 119 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Elvira?
- About 1 in every 13,506 US girls born in 2025 was named Elvira — 119 in all.
- Will my child share the name Elvira with classmates?
- Elvira will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Elvira
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Diya#1710 · Isa#1710 · Aleyah#1710 · Karoline#1710 · Evaluna#1710 · Azara#1710 · Aulani#1710 · Marwa#1710
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Elvira? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Elvira and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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