Given name · also Old Norse
Elof
“the only heir”
Elof is used as a given name. One Swedish interpretation is “the only heir.”
Original Old NorseEilífr
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Swedish interpretation is “the only heir.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Old Norse.
How it developed
The name combines ei (“ever, always or einn one, alone”) and lafr (“descendant, heir”).
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1915. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Elof through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 6
- 6 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1915
- 6 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 6 in 1915. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Elof’s family of names
Elof has an affectionate form in Loffe. Elof shares a linguistic root with Eluf. In Swedish usage, Elof continues an earlier form in Eilífr.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 8
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 3
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Elof
- Elof Ahrleactor, Film director (1900–1965)
- Elof TegnérSwedish librarian (1844-1900)
- Elof WestergaardDanish bishopborn 1962
- Elof HellquistSwedish scientist (1864-1933)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Elof, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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