Elijah · Daily fortune

Elijah is a masculine name of Hebrew origin. It comes from אֱלִיָּהוּ (ʾEliyyahu), meaning "my God is Yahweh", built from ʾel and yah, two words for the God of Israel. The prophet Elijah of the Books of Kings confronted King Ahab and Queen Jezebel over Baal-worship and was carried to heaven in a chariot of fire. Medieval Europeans used the name, usually in the Latin form Elias or the English Elis, but it died out in England by the 16th century and was revived by the Puritans as Elijah after the Reformation. It rose sharply in the 1990s and 2000s, entered the US top ten in 2016, and ranked #7 for boys in 2025.

Behind the Name derives Elijah "from the Hebrew name אֱלִיָּהוּ (ʾEliyyahu) meaning 'my God is Yahweh', derived from the roots אֵל (ʾel) and יָהּ (yah), both referring to the Hebrew God". Wikipedia gives the same Hebrew form, Eliyahu, and the same gloss, "My God is Yahweh/YHWH", and classifies it as a theophoric name, one that contains the name of a god. The two sources agree entirely. The Greek and Latin form of the same name is Elias, which the Greek New Testament and some English Bibles use; Elias is treated as a separate profile on this site.

Elijah was, in Behind the Name's summary, "a Hebrew prophet and miracle worker, as told in the two Books of Kings in the Old Testament", active in the 9th century BC under King Ahab of Israel and his Phoenician-born queen Jezebel. He confronted them over their idolatry of the Canaanite god Ba'al, was carried to heaven in a chariot of fire at the end of his life, and was succeeded by Elisha. In the New Testament he appears beside Moses at the Transfiguration of Jesus. Because he was a popular figure in medieval tales and because a few early saints bore the name (usually known by the Latin form Elias), the name came into general use in the Middle Ages; in medieval England it was usually spelled Elis. It died out there by the 16th century and was revived by the Puritans in the form Elijah after the Protestant Reformation. The modern surge came late: the name became popular during the 1990s and 2000s, especially in America, where it broke into the top ten in 2016. Wikipedia adds that in 2022 and 2023 it was among the five most popular names for Black newborn boys in Virginia, and that it was the 37th most popular boys' name in Canada in 2022.

Elijah ranked #7 for boys in the United States in 2025 (Social Security Administration). Behind the Name records that the name became popular during the 1990s and 2000s and broke into the American top ten in 2016, so 2025 marks roughly a decade inside the top ten. Wikipedia adds two regional data points: it was the 37th most popular boys' name in Canada in 2022, and in 2022 and 2023 it was among the five most popular names for Black newborn boys in Virginia.

English Elijah is /ɪ.ˈlaɪ.d͡ʒə/ (i-LIE-jə), three syllables with the stress in the middle; Behind the Name also records /ɪ.ˈlaɪ.ʒə/ with a softer 'zh' sound. The English spelling is largely confined to English and Hebrew use. Most other languages use a form descended from Greek Elias, from Arabic Ilyas, or from Slavic Ilya, and those forms are listed below from Behind the Name. None of the non-English pronunciations were verified in this pass.

Elijah sits in the group of Old Testament names that feel both weighty and easy to wear, alongside Noah, Levi, Isaac and Ezra. It has the built-in nickname Eli, which reads as friendly and modern, while the full name keeps the gravity of the prophet. The story attached to it, a lone prophet facing down a king, a chariot of fire, is dramatic without being obscure, and the name is used across Christian, Jewish and (through Ilyas) Muslim traditions. Its main practical drawback is that it is now very common: a top-ten name for a decade means many Elijahs in each school year, and its Greek form Elias is also in the top 15.

The prophet dominates the name's story; more recent bearers include an inventor, a Nation of Islam leader, a congressman and a film actor. The bearers below are only those named in the Behind the Name and Wikipedia entries consulted for this profile.

Names that share Elijah's Old Testament register, its Hebrew origin, or its sound.