Elder
About Elder
Anyone who's seen "The Book of Mormon" or visited Utah knows this as the title taken by male Mormon missionaries during their term of service. We'd advise anyone who lives somewhere with any significant Mormon population to avoid it for that reason.
That said, Elder does have some history as a boys' name, especially in Latin America, where the stress is on the second syllable. The "el-" sound has become extremely fashionable, so we wouldn't be surprised if this started climbing up the charts.
As of October 2026, Elder ranked #2725 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #556 in 1899.
Editor's take: The name Elder is a boy's name.
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #2,676 | 45 | 23.4 |
| 2015 | #3,456 | 32 | 16.7 |
| 2016 | #2,945 | 40 | 21.1 |
| 2017 | #2,768 | 44 | 23.8 |
| 2018 | #3,631 | 30 | 16.5 |
| 2019 | #2,596 | 50 | 27.9 |
| 2020 | #3,513 | 31 | 18 |
| 2021 | #2,830 | 44 | 25.2 |
| 2022 | #3,019 | 41 | 23.5 |
| 2023 | #2,704 | 48 | 28.1 |
| 2024 | #2,396 | 58 | 33.7 |
| 2025 | #2,725 | 47 | 27.5 |
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Elder.
- Stirling
- Americus
- Paz
- Abit
- Urie
- Valiant
- Vail
- Terre
- Glasgow
- Banyan
- Pyrs
- Averill
- Quay
- Revere
- Theroux
- Zaki
- Rexford
- Zell
- Vandal
- Basel
Elder on lists
Famous Elders
- Élder Alencar Machado (de Campos)
Brazilian footballer
- Elder José Figueroa
Salvadoran footballer
- Élder da Silva Granja
Brazilian footballer
- Elder Herrera
Colombian cyclist
- Elder James Olson
American poet
- Elder Vogel
American politician from Pennsylvania
- Elder Lafayette White
American baseball player
- Elderson Uwa Echiéjilé
Nigerian footballer
Elder in pop culture
- Elder
a character in the Across the Universe trilogy by Beth Revis
- Elder
a member of a powerful group of Whitelighters (guardian angels) in the TV series Charmed
- Elder
title in the LDS church, used for several characters in musical "The Book of Mormon"
- The Elder Wand
one of the Deathly Hallows in Harry Potter
- The Elder Scrolls
a game franchise from Bethesda
- Elder
an English surname, may refer to an ancestor with high standing in a Protestant church governed by councils of elders