Elif
- Gender
- Girl
- Say it
- eh-LEEF
- Origin
- Arabic
- UK rank, 2025
- #698 for girls
- US rank, 2025
- #1,911 for girls
Elif is a girls' name of Arabic origin, meaning “first letter; slender”. In 2025 it ranked 698th for girls in the UK (58 babies) and 1,911th for girls in the US (101 babies).
What does Elif mean?
Arabic: Turkish name for alif, the first letter of the Arabic alphabet
“first letter; slender”
The Turkish name of alif, the first letter of the Arabic alphabet, whose upright stroke suggests a slender figure.
Is Elif a girl's or a boy's name?
Elif is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 58 girls in the UK and 101 girls in the US. Too few boys were given it to be listed.
How popular is Elif in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- #698among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 58about 1 in 4,800 girls
- Five-year trend
- Steadydown 19% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 58 girls in the UK were named Elif, making it the 698th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 691st. Its busiest year was 2015, with 86 girls.
Half of all the girls named Elif in the UK since 1996 were born between 2009 and 2019, the years shaded on the chart below.
Among girls in 2025, it was 684th in England and Wales and 632nd in Scotland.
Elif in the UK, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 58 | #698 |
| 2024 | 58 | #711 |
| 2023 | 48 | #813 |
| 2022 | 51 | #772 |
| 2021 | 50 | #805 |
| 2020 | 58 | #691 |
| 2019 | 78 | #567 |
| 2018 | 66 | #669 |
| 2017 | 71 | #646 |
| 2016 | 73 | #631 |
| 2015 | 86 | #546 |
| 2014 | 71 | #632 |
| 2013 | 49 | #829 |
| 2012 | 65 | #694 |
| 2011 | 65 | #671 |
| 2010 | 38 | #968 |
| 2009 | 45 | #836 |
| 2008 | 46 | #810 |
| 2007 | 37 | #910 |
| 2006 | 42 | #798 |
| 2005 | 25 | #1,077 |
| 2004 | 23 | #1,112 |
| 2003 | 20 | #1,216 |
| 2002 | 23 | #1,053 |
| 2001 | 22 | #1,042 |
| 2000 | 24 | #987 |
| 1999 | 22 | #1,035 |
| 1998 | 15 | #1,350 |
| 1997 | 17 | #1,227 |
| 1996 | 20 | #1,061 |
How popular is Elif in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- #1,911among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 101about 1 in 16,000 girls
- Five-year trend
- Risingup 55% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 101 girls in the US were named Elif, making it the 1,911th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 2,216th. Its busiest year was 2024, with 115 girls. It first appears in the records in 1977.
Half of all the girls named Elif in the US since 1880 were born between 2010 and 2022, the years shaded on the chart below.
Elif in the US, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 101 | #1,911 |
| 2024 | 115 | #1,753 |
| 2023 | 90 | #2,124 |
| 2022 | 106 | #1,898 |
| 2021 | 85 | #2,186 |
| 2020 | 81 | #2,216 |
| 2019 | 52 | #3,084 |
| 2018 | 65 | #2,646 |
| 2017 | 68 | #2,573 |
| 2016 | 69 | #2,560 |
| 2015 | 53 | #3,129 |
| 2014 | 75 | #2,412 |
| 2013 | 54 | #3,041 |
| 2012 | 59 | #2,900 |
| 2011 | 46 | #3,451 |
| 2010 | 48 | #3,359 |
| 2009 | 38 | #4,012 |
| 2008 | 36 | #4,267 |
| 2007 | 32 | #4,566 |
| 2006 | 27 | #5,085 |
| 2005 | 23 | #5,432 |
| 2004 | 9 | #10,684 |
| 2003 | 14 | #7,575 |
| 2002 | 12 | #8,274 |
| 2001 | 9 | #10,095 |
| 2000 | 9 | #9,867 |
| 1999 | 13 | #7,233 |
| 1998 | 15 | #6,355 |
| 1997 | 16 | #5,864 |
| 1996 | 5 | #13,511 |
| 1995 | 10 | #8,074 |
| 1994 | 15 | #5,978 |
| 1993 | 7 | #10,581 |
| 1992 | 14 | #6,307 |
| 1991 | 7 | #10,263 |
| 1990 | 8 | #9,241 |
| 1989 | 7 | #9,675 |
| 1988 | 5 | #11,792 |
| 1987 | 6 | #9,820 |
| 1986 | 6 | #9,540 |
| 1985 | 0 | – |
| 1984 | 7 | #8,149 |
| 1983 | 6 | #9,013 |
| 1982 | 0 | – |
| 1981 | 0 | – |
| 1980 | 5 | #10,390 |
| 1979 | 0 | – |
| 1978 | 0 | – |
| 1977 | 6 | #8,442 |
Names like Elif
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Safa Zainab Ayah Hafsa Hiba Aaliyah Rahma Safaa Nusaybah Huda Amira Emaan
Names related to Elif
More Arabic names
Muhammad Layla Mohammed Lyla Mohammad Zara Amir Fatima Ali Yahya Zayn Aisha Omar Zahra Hamza Kairo
Sources
Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Elif: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/elif, updated 20 October 2026.