Baby Names US
girls' name ★ peaked 1918

Elva

Gender Girl · 3% boys Rank 2025 #3,665 Trend ↓ Falling 13%

Elva is an almost exclusively feminine given name which may refer to:

Rank 2025
#3,665
among girls · ↓4 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
41
named Elva · -2% vs 2024
How common
1 in 39,202
girls born in 2025
Peak year
1918
818 babies
All-time total
32,514
#811 all-time among girls
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Elva popularity over time

32,514 babies have been named Elva since 1880, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
0.380.751.131.518801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
GirlsBoys

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s 903 22 925 93 – #176
1890s 1,900 32 1,932 193 +109% #179
1900s 2,677 47 2,724 272 +41% #161
1910s 6,052 137 6,189 619 +127% #194
1920s 6,314 217 6,531 653 +6% #234
1930s 3,794 160 3,954 395 -39% #292
1940s 2,698 114 2,812 281 -29% #385
1950s 2,282 64 2,346 235 -17% #496
1960s 1,508 14 1,522 152 -35% #741
1970s 988 5 993 99 -35% #992
1980s 754 5 759 76 -24% #1,323
1990s 652 – 652 65 -14% #1,729
2000s 472 – 472 47 -28% #2,488
2010s 461 – 461 46 -2% #3,073
2020s (to 2025) 242 – 242 40 -13% #3,413

Where Elva is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 40 0.03 outside top 500
2027 40 0.02 outside top 500
2028 39 0.02 outside top 500
2029 39 0.02 outside top 500
2030 38 0.02 outside top 500

The story of Elva

Elva is rare for girls in the United States, ranked #3,665 in 2025 with 41 babies given the name. It is currently holding steady compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 32,514 American babies have been named Elva. Its peak came in 1918, when 818 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1910s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Elva stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Elva?

The median living Elva is about 66 years old; half are between 44 and 78. An estimated 9,800 people named Elva are alive in the United States today.

median 66 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Elva year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 41 #3,665 – –
2024 42 #3,661 – –
2023 38 #3,930 – –
2022 41 #3,725 – –
2021 35 #4,120 – –
2020 45 #3,413 – –
2019 50 #3,188 – –
2018 49 #3,262 – –
2017 48 #3,319 – –
2016 54 #3,073 – –
2015 44 #3,550 – –
2014 43 #3,606 – –
2013 40 #3,805 – –
2012 45 #3,544 – –
2011 34 #4,280 – –
2010 54 #3,089 – –
2009 39 #3,963 – –
2008 38 #4,111 – –
2007 47 #3,498 – –
2006 56 #3,028 – –
2005 39 #3,757 – –
2004 46 #3,280 – –
2003 44 #3,312 – –
2002 51 #2,904 – –
2001 51 #2,854 – –
2000 61 #2,488 – –
1995 50 #2,524 – –
1990 82 #1,771 – –
1985 65 #1,745 – –
1980 74 #1,574 – –
1975 108 #1,085 – –
1970 107 #1,100 5 #4,930
1965 152 #804 – –
1960 189 #741 – –
1955 246 #585 5 #4,023
1950 225 #554 10 #2,480
1945 239 #464 6 #3,103
1940 301 #385 13 #2,014
1935 369 #329 14 #1,963
1930 512 #292 20 #1,661
1925 632 #265 18 #1,892
1920 767 #234 27 #1,433
1915 753 #216 16 #1,813
1910 342 #194 5 #1,664
1905 261 #189 6 #1,135
1900 301 #178 5 #1,373
1895 218 #182 5 #1,130
1890 160 #185 6 #925
1885 108 #176 – –
1880 44 #234 – –

Famous people named Elva

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Elva Hsiao Elva Hsiao Taiwanese singer (born 1979) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Elva, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Elva?

The median living Elva is about 66 years old. Half of all living Elvas are between 44 and 78 years old.

How many people named Elva are alive today?

An estimated 9,800 people named Elva are alive in the United States, based on 32,514 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Elva mean?

Elva is an almost exclusively feminine given name which may refer to:

How popular is the name Elva in 2025?

Elva ranked #3,665 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 41 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Elva?

32,514 babies have been named Elva in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Elva most popular?

Elva peaked in 1918, when 818 newborns received the name.

Is Elva a boy or girl name?

Elva is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 97% of babies with the name.

Is the name Elva rising or falling?

Elva has been roughly stable over the past decade.

Will Elva become more popular?

Elva is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 38 girls named Elva in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Elva?

Well-known people named Elva include Elva Hsiao (singer).

Names like Elva

Names that sound and feel close to Elva: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Elva with similar names → More names starting with E →