Elian
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Meaning
used in Spanish as Elián; in Dutch, a rare form of names beginning Eli. Elián González’s name is reported to combine his parents’ names, Elizabeth and Juan
The story
Elian has more than one name history. In Dutch it is a rare form of names beginning Eli, including Elijah and Elisabeth. Cuban Elián González has a different, individual explanation: according to the name reference Behind the Name, his parents combined their names, Elizabeth and Juan, to make Elián. That account concerns his own name, not every Spanish-speaking Elián.
González became the center of an international dispute after he was found off Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in late 1999. He was five years old and clinging to an inner tube. His mother had died during the crossing from Cuba. Relatives in the United States wanted him to stay with them; his father wanted him to return to Cuba.
The disagreement became a legal and political conflict lasting several months. In June 2000, the United States Supreme Court declined to review the case. González was then permitted to leave and returned to Cuba with his father.
In written records since at least 1535: the Welsh church name Llan Elian. This record does not tell us when Elian began to be used as a given name.
How popular is Elian around the world?
In the United States, 8,373 babies were named Elian between 2020 and 2025. In Puerto Rico, 117 babies were named Elian in 2025, and 1,522 have carried the name since 1998.
Elian is on the official records of the United States, Puerto Rico, Mexico City, Argentina, Chile, Norway, Austria, France, Montevideo, Canada, Spain, England and Wales, South Australia, Poland and Brazil.
Elian crosses languages: it is in the latest top 300 of an English-speaking birth record and of a Spanish-speaking one. The full list: English and Spanish
United States
1 in 2,600
In the United States, 8,373 babies were named Elian between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Elian peaked in the 2020s. Elian went to 365 US babies in 2015 and 2,457 in 2025, 6.7 times as many.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Puerto Rico
1 in 150
In Puerto Rico, 117 babies were named Elian in 2025, and 1,522 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)
Mexico City City
1 in 230
In Mexico City, there were 518 registrations of Elian 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 (31 registrations through 3 Mar) is excluded as partial. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Argentina
1 in 320
In Argentina, 2,049 newborns were given the name Elian 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
Chile
1 in 660
In Chile, 268 boys were registered as Elian 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
Norway
1 in 1,300register 2026
In Norway, 21 boys were given the name Elian in 2025.
share of the boys on the register for that year, SSB’s own figure
People who have or have had a Norwegian ID number, emigrants left out, from Statistics Norway’s name statistics (release of January 2026): by year of birth for 1945–2020 (everyone born that year who was ever registered in Norway, including people who registered later and people who have since died) and by year of naming from 2021; only first names carried by 200 or more living people are listed, counts under 4 are withheld, and SSB merges spellings that differ only by letters outside the Norwegian alphabet. The shares are SSB’s own, of the people of that sex and year in that count; the 2025 figure counts the children named that year, and no year is a count of births. Source: Statistics Norway (SSB), table 10467 (updated 2026-01-28)
Austria
1 in 1,300
In Austria, 57 boys named Elian were born in 2025, the 120th most common name among boys that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
share of that year’s births on record
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)
France
1 in 7,200
In France, about 90 boys named Elian were born in 2025, the 497th 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 Elian, and accented spellings are separate names. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)
Montevideo City
1 in 12,0002011
In Montevideo, 2 boys named Elian were born in 2011, spelling variants counted together.
share of that year’s births on record
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
Canada
1 in 15,000
In Canada, 24 boys named Elian were born in 2024, ranked 1,037th 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)
Spain
1 in 17,000
In Spain, 2,526 residents are named Elian, the 696th most common name among men, with a mean age of 8.3 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
England and Wales
1 in 17,000
In England and Wales, 34 boys named Elian were born in 2025, the 914th most common name 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
South Australia
1 in 18,0002017
In South Australia, 1 boy was registered as Elian in 2017.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.
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
Poland
1 in 19,000
In Poland, 13 boys named Elian were born in 2025, the 305th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)
Brazil
1 in 34,000
At the 2022 census, 5,830 people in Brazil were named Elian, ranked 2,457th, with a median age of 22.
Among people named Elian 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 279 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
Not on the record in Ireland, New Zealand and Scotland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
When you meet Elian
Most people given the name Elian 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 Elian deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Elian 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 Elian fits with your family’s names and surname.
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