Given name & surname
Elke
“a noble and kind woman”
Elke is used as a given name and a surname. One German interpretation is “a noble and kind woman.”
Original GermanAdelheid
Meaning & origin
What it means
One German interpretation is “a noble and kind woman.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is German.
How it developed
In German usage, Elke is a diminutive of Adelheid. Elke is a feminine form of Elkan.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1953. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Elke through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 1,116
- 0 boys · 1,116 girls
- Most popular year
- 1968
- 77 babies
- 2025
- 9
- #10,330 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −24%
- Easing
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 9 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 10,330 among girls’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Its largest published annual count for girls was 77 in 1968. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 3,174 as a first name in 2020; 177 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Elke’s family of names
In German usage, Elke is a diminutive of Adelheid. Elke is a feminine form of Elkan. In German usage, Elke has a related form in Elka.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 8
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 2
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Elke
- Elke SommerGerman actress (born 1940)
- Elke ErbGerman poet and translator (1938–2024)
- Elke KahrAustrian politicianborn 1961
- Elke WinkensGerman actressborn 1970
- Elke KrystufekAustrian artist (born 1970)
- Elke ClijstersBelgian tennis playerborn 1985
- Elke SehmischEast German swimmerborn 1955
- Elke HeidenreichGerman author and journalist (born 1943)
- Elke DrüllGerman field hockey playerborn 1956
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Elke, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Evette
“giver of life; a lively woman”
>99% girls
Ericka
Ericka is a feminine given name from Germanic.
>99% girls
Scheherazade
“lineage” · “noble”
>99% girls
Liesl
“my God is bountiful” · “God is my oath”
>99% girls
Gretchen
“resembling a pearl”
>99% girls
Liese
“God is my oath” · “my God is bountiful”
>99% girls
Imelda
“warrior in the universal battle”
>99% girls
Greta
“resembling a pearl”
>99% girls