Girls' name · peaked in 1945
Elaine name popularity since 1925
238,699 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Elaine. Half of them were born in 1949 or earlier, so the typical Elaine is about 77 years old in 2026. Elaine peaked in 1945 as the #44 name for girls, and it ranked #305 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 238,699
- Named Elaine, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- #305
- for girls in 2025 (1,007 babies)
- Girls / boys
- 99.7% girls
- 238,090 girls · 609 boys
- Most popular in
- Rhode Island
- 2.74× its national share
Peak year is the year Elaine made up the largest share of US girls, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Elaine births per year, 1925–2025
The biggest year by count was 1947. Measured as a share of all babies, Elaine peaked in 1945.
- Steepest fall: Between 1965 and 1970, Elaine's share of baby girls fell by 42%, from 1 in 707 to 1 in 1,220.
- Fastest rise: Between 2018 and 2023, it became 1.8× more common, from 1 in 3,620 baby girls to 1 in 1,990.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Elaine's share of all US girls five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Elaine.
Decade by decade
Babies named Elaine in each decade, and its rank among girls' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 19,746 | 73 | – |
| 1930s | 41,108 | 146 | #51 |
| 1940s | 60,105 | 155 | #44 |
| 1950s | 54,232 | 88 | #77 |
| 1960s | 27,466 | 79 | #149 |
| 1970s | 9,779 | 30 | #282 |
| 1980s | 7,112 | 38 | #360 |
| 1990s | 5,441 | 0 | #467 |
| 2000s | 4,138 | 0 | #606 |
| 2010s | 4,384 | 0 | #675 |
| 2020–25 | 4,579 | 0 | #305 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 girls that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
41.3% of babies named Elaine from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Baby Boom years (1946–1964). The full split by generation:
Where Elaine is most popular
The index compares Elaine's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Elaine.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Rhode Island | 2.74× | 2,314 |
| Massachusetts | 2.43× | 13,776 |
| North Dakota | 2.29× | 1,720 |
| Maine | 2.22× | 2,260 |
| New Hampshire | 2.04× | 1,529 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Elaine and were given to at least 1,000 girls from 1925 to 2025, with the year each one was most popular.
| Spelling | Girls | Peak year |
|---|---|---|
| Elaine (this page) | 238,090 | 1945 |
| Elayne | 3,608 | 1925 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 499 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Elaine's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Elaine.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Elaine (1945).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data