Elder

Where Elder comes from

Elder hasn't made it into the dictionaries we draw on, and nobody well known enough for an encyclopedia has carried it yet — so for now its story is the one the SSA record tells. Names that spell a familiar sound a new way often live here for a while before anyone writes them down.

Along the way
  1. 1880
    First SSA year
    Already #682 among boys — 8 babies in the first year on record.
  2. 1899
    Peak, #548
    13 babies named Elder — more than any year before or since.
  3. 1901
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #943.
  4. 1968
    Elder Herrera born
    Colombian racing cyclist
  5. 1980
    Elder José Figueroa born
    Colombian footballer
In the dictionary

No dictionary entry for this spelling — which is its own kind of rare.

Namesakes
  • Elder Herrera · Colombian racing cyclist, born 1968
  • Elder José Figueroa · Colombian footballer, born 1980
  • Elder Roma Wilson · gospel harmonica player and singer, 1910–2018

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.