Elaine
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Meaning
form of Helen, "shining light"; Arthurian romance in England, and one of Brazil's defining girl names of the 1970s and 80s
The story
Elaine is an old French form of Helen, shining light, and it walked into English through Arthurian legend: Elaine of Astolat, the Lily Maid who died of her unrequited love for Lancelot, retold by Tennyson in the poems Victorian readers adored. That literary glow likely helped launch the name's American career, and the shape of it is striking: modest in the 1890s, Elaine climbed for five straight decades to a peak in the 1940s, a proper mid-century favorite. It slid just as steadily afterward, and by the 1990s, even with an Elaine dancing terribly at the center of Seinfeld, the tide did not turn; it has stayed a quiet, settled presence since. Names with this shape often circle back when their era's grandchildren start naming babies. Shining light, doomed love, perfect comic timing: Elaine is patient, and stories keep finding it.
Elaine across languages
One shared root links 8 names across 5 languages.
Shared root: Greek Helene, traditionally "torch, light", though even the ancients were guessing at its true root
The constellation
More branches
How popular is Elaine around the world?
In the United States, 4,579 babies were named Elaine between 2020 and 2025. At the 2022 census, 241,786 people in Brazil were named Elaine, the 127th most common name, with a median age of 41.
Elaine is on the official records of the United States, Brazil, Mexico City, Chile, Canada, Ireland, Argentina, South Australia, Austria, England and Wales, Montevideo, Spain and France.
Elaine crosses languages: it is in the latest top 300 of a Spanish-speaking record and of Brazil’s 2022 census, which counts people of every age. The full list: Spanish and Portuguese
United States
1 in 4,800
In the United States, 4,579 babies were named Elaine between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Elaine peaked in the 1940s.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Brazil
1 in 840
At the 2022 census, 241,786 people in Brazil were named Elaine, the 127th most common name, with a median age of 41.
Among people named Elaine living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1980s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
The census also counted 657 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
Mexico City City
1 in 2,600
In Mexico City, there were 46 registrations of Elaine in 2022.
share of that year’s registrations in the city
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023 (1 registration through 3 Mar) is excluded as partial. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Chile
1 in 5,100
In Chile, 35 girls were registered as Elaine in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.
share of that year’s name registrations
First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021
Canada
1 in 5,900
In Canada, 62 girls named Elaine were born in 2024, the 474th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
Ireland
1 in 11,000
In Ireland, 5 girls named Elaine were born in 2025, the 608th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
Argentina
1 in 11,000
In Argentina, 58 newborns were given the name Elaine in 2024.
share of that year’s name registrations
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
South Australia
1 in 18,0002017
In South Australia, 1 girl was registered as Elaine in 2017.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Austria
1 in 19,000
In Austria, 4 girls named Elaine were born in 2025, the 858th most common name among girls that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
The count never rose above 9 in a year, too few to chart.
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
England and Wales
1 in 20,000
In England and Wales, 29 girls named Elaine were born in 2025, ranked 1,133rd among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Montevideo City
1 in 25,0002011
In Montevideo, 1 girl named Elaine was born in 2011, spelling variants counted together.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
Spain
1 in 56,000
In Spain, 804 residents are named Elaine, ranked 1,704th among women, with a mean age of 47.5 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
France
1 in 130,000
In France, about 5 girls named Elaine were born in 2025, ranked 4,780th among girls that year.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)
New South Wales
outside the top 100
Elaine is not in the 2025 top 100 for New South Wales.
share of that year’s top-100 registrations
New South Wales (not all of Australia) publishes only each year’s 100 most popular names per sex, so a missing year means below that top 100, not rare. Source: NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, popular baby names
New Zealand
last on record 2022
Elaine is not on the 2025 record for New Zealand, where names under 10 in a year are excluded at source.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
Puerto Rico
last on record 2014
Elaine is not on the 2025 record for Puerto Rico, which withholds births under 5, and 72 babies have carried the name there since 1998.
share of that year’s births on record
First given name only, from Social Security records of births in Puerto Rico; any name-sex-year under 5 births is withheld at source. Shares divide by the Puerto Rico Demographic Registry’s count of births on the island; the 2025 count is provisional. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, territory name file (Puerto Rico)
Scotland
last on record 2023
Elaine is not on the 2024 record for Scotland, where spellings under 3 in total are suppressed at source.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
Not on the record in Poland: that registry withholds small counts, so rare uses may sit below its floor.
Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Elaine
Most people given the name Elaine in the United States were born between 1940 and 1979. The Elaine you meet today is most often in her 60s or 70s.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
The Elaine deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Elaine truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Elaine fits with your family’s names and surname.
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