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Elkanah

#11,049 in 2025Boys' name

God has created

Elkanah has been given to 58 babies in the U.S. since 1982. In 2025 it ranked #11,049 of 13,926 boys’ names in use. Its peak year was 2019, with 7 recorded.

Babies named Elkanah, 2025

1 in 553,000

Elkanah over time, 1880–2025

Boys
0246818801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Elkanah: meaning, origin, and history

God has created

Hebrew

What Elkanah means

Elkanah means “God has created”, associated with ʾelqānā.

Origin, language, and formation

Elkanah is used in English. Its origins include Hebrew.

Elkanah comes through Hebrew אֶלְקָנָה.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 58 boys were recorded with the name Elkanah between 1982 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 7 in 2019; its best national rank was #6,652 in 1982.

Over 5 years its rank rose, from #12,595 in 2020 to #11,049 in 2025.

Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution

Meaning, origin, and language notes draw on the references below.

American popularity figures use published Social Security Administration records for this exact spelling. Counts below five for a name, sex, and year are omitted.

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

How common is Elkanah?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 553,000
6 of 3,315,165 births
Among boys only
1 in 285,000
<0.01% of boys
Rank, 2025
#11,049
of 13,926 boys’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
382,984 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Elkanah sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Liam (20,818)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 100Under 1%
School of 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 382,984 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Elkanah. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Elkanahs were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Elkanah was born before 2019 — so the typical Elkanah is around 6 today.

Median birth year
2019
About 6 years old
Biggest decade
2020s
43.1% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
91.4%
A modern name
Recorded since 1950
58
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

2020s — 43.1% of all recorded uses (25).

Is Elkanah rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
−861
Places dropped
Rank vs 5 years ago
+1,546
Places climbed
Rank vs 10 years ago
—
Not ranked then
Births vs 10 years ago
—
Not published both years
Share of its own peak
85.7%
Peak was 2019 (7)
Years since peak
6
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Shifting
14.3% average annual change
Best rank ever
#6,652
1982

Elkanah around the world

Where Elkanah ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    2010–2016
    #4,810
    in 2016

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics. ONS data under Open Government Licence v3.0.

Elkanah by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#11,049
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Up 1,546
Best rank ever
#6,652
1982
Peak year
2019
7 that year
First recorded
1982
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
58
Count in 2025
6

Names similar to Elkanah

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

ElkanElkinJonnahQuanahElkinsJunahSavannahYonahHannahJonah

Sibling names for Elkanah

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Elkanah

Top names of 2019, Elkanah's peak yearThe 2010s in fullOther names that peaked in 1982Boys' names starting with E