Elaine

Where Elaine comes from

From Old French Elaine, a variant of Elene, cognate to Helen, ultimately from Ancient Greek Ἑλένη (Helénē). A Celtic origin has also been suggested since the name appears in Arthurian legend. Doublet of Helen.
— Wiktionary's entry for Elaine
  • Ancient Greek
  • 2 syllables
  • Vowel-ended
Along the way
  1. 1880
    First SSA year
    Already #836 among girls — 5 babies in the first year on record.
  2. 1938
    Peak, #42
    4,835 babies named Elaine — more than any year before or since.
  3. 1953
    Elaine Chao born
    18th United States Secretary of Transportation and 24th United States Secretary of Labor
  4. 1966
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #166.
  5. 1992
    Elaine Thompson-Herah born
    Jamaican athletics competitor
In the dictionary
  • A female given name from Ancient Greek.
Namesakes
  • Elaine Thompson-Herah · Jamaican athletics competitor, born 1992
  • Elaine Chao · 18th United States Secretary of Transportation and 24th United States Secretary of Labor, born 1953
  • Elaine Paige · English singer, stage actress and radio presenter, born 1948
  • Elaine May · American screenwriter, film director, actress, and comedian, born 1932

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.