Eliam
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Meaning
“God is a kinsman (older dictionaries: 'God's people'); borne by one of King David's mighty men”
The story
Eliam is one of the Bible's quiet names. The scholars read it as "God is a kinsman," and the older dictionaries preferred "God's people"; both readings keep the same warm idea, that the divine is family. Scripture gives the name to one of King David's mighty men, and, in the book of Samuel, to the father of Bathsheba, which places Eliam two verses upstream of one of the Old Testament's most consequential marriages. For all that pedigree, American families barely touched it for a century. Then: 122 boys in the 2000s, 1,029 in the 2010s, and 3,288 already since 2020, past the full 2010s total with years still on the clock. That is the profile of a name being discovered, not revived. It fits the moment precisely: biblical but unworn, three syllables, lands near Liam, and the meaning reads like a blessing.
How popular is Eliam around the world?
In the United States, 3,288 babies were named Eliam between 2020 and 2025. In Puerto Rico, 84 babies were named Eliam in 2025, and 606 have carried the name since 1998.
Eliam is on the official records of the United States, Puerto Rico, Argentina, Mexico City, Chile, France, Canada, Austria, England and Wales, Spain and Brazil.
United States
1 in 6,600
In the United States, 3,288 babies were named Eliam between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Eliam peaked in the 2020s. Eliam went to 94 US babies in 2015 and 1,085 in 2025, 11.5 times as many.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Puerto Rico
1 in 210
In Puerto Rico, 84 babies were named Eliam in 2025, and 606 have carried the name 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)
Argentina
1 in 1,300
In Argentina, 518 newborns were given the name Eliam 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
Mexico City City
1 in 1,500
In Mexico City, there were 77 registrations of Eliam 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 (6 registrations through 3 Mar) is excluded as partial. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Chile
1 in 3,300
In Chile, 54 boys were registered as Eliam 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
France
1 in 6,400
In France, about 100 boys named Eliam were born in 2025, the 455th most common name among boys 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. This registry counts each spelling separately; the figures above are for the exact spelling Eliam, and accented spellings are separate names. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)
Canada
1 in 6,500
In Canada, 56 boys named Eliam were born in 2024, the 517th most common name among boys 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)
Austria
1 in 25,000
In Austria, 3 boys named Eliam were born in 2025, the 981st most common name among boys that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
The count never rose above 4 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 42,000
In England and Wales, 14 boys named Eliam were born in 2025, ranked 1,798th among boys 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
Spain
1 in 220,000
In Spain, 202 residents are named Eliam, ranked 4,613th among men, with a mean age of 9 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
Brazil
1 in 1M
At the 2022 census, 236 people in Brazil were named Eliam, ranked 22,604th, with a median age of 22.
Among people named Eliam living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 2000s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
The census also counted 46 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
Montevideo City
last on record 2006
Eliam is not on the 2011 record for Montevideo, whose registry withholds nothing, so the spelling was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 1 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
Not on the record in Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the South Australia record for 1944 to 2017: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. 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 Eliam
Most people given the name Eliam in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
The Eliam deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Eliam 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 Eliam fits with your family’s names and surname.
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