Given name

Elga

“wielding an elf's spear”

Elga is used as a given name. One Anglo-Saxon interpretation is “wielding an elf's spear.”

Meaning & origin

What it means

One Anglo-Saxon interpretation is “wielding an elf's spear.”

Where it comes from

An origin associated with this spelling is Anglo-Saxon.

The story

Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1914. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.

From dated birth records

Elga through the years

Babies since 1880
130
10 boys · 120 girls
Most popular year
1927
32 babies
2025
0
Outside the ranked list
2021–25 vs 2016–20
—
Too few births to compare
Boys Girls
0102030192019401960198020002025Highest share 1927Boys 0.0Girls 0.0
Elga in U.S. Social Security birth records, 1914–2025, per million births of each sex. Years with fewer than five births for a sex are not published and appear as zero. Use the arrow keys to step through years.

By the numbers

The most recent published U.S. birth count for girls is 5 in 1982. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for girls was 27 in 1927. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 575 as a first name in 2020.

From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.

Elga’s family of names

In Italian usage, Elga has a conventional equivalent in the Polish form Helga. Elga has a related form in Elgan. Elga has a related form in Elgana.

Walk Elga’s family in the name graph

ElgaElganElgerElganiaElganaElganeaHelga

Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.

Hover or tab through the constellation to see how each name is related. Bigger dots are names more people in the U.S. share.

Around the world

Elga has relatives in 4 languages. Lines run from its Old English roots to each of them.

Old English

1 related names in 4 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.

Each dot marks where a language is rooted, not where people with the name live today. Bigger dots hold more names. Language locations from Glottolog (CC BY 4.0); map from Natural Earth.

Nicknames & forms 5

Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.

Across languages 1

Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.

Similar names

If you love Elga, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.

Anglo-Saxon · Mythological

Rheda

“a divine woman; a goddess”

0Not recently recorded

>99% girls

French

Orva

“a courageous friend” · “as precious as gold”

0Not recently recorded

17% boys · 83% girls

English · Old-fashioned

Elzie

“from the nobleman's estate”

20RareRising fast

19% boys · 81% girls

American · Old-fashioned

Etta

“ruler of the house”

51UncommonSteady

>99% girls

Hebrew · Old-fashioned

Ethel

“a noble woman” · “one who is noble”

28RareSteady

>99% girls

English · Old-fashioned

Alvina

“triend of the elves” · “friend of the elves”

22RareEasing

>99% girls

English · Nature

Verna

“woman from Verona” · “from the alder-tree grove”

30RareSteady

>99% girls

Anglo-Saxon · Royal

Ida

“a king”

48UncommonRising

>99% girls

Sibling ideas

Names that share Elga’s feel without repeating its first letter or rhyming with it.