Given name & surname · also Latin, Germanic
Elvira
“a-truthful woman; one who can be trusted”
Elvira has a long Spanish history and Germanic roots whose details remain debated.
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Latin interpretation is “a-truthful woman; one who can be trusted.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Germanic.
The story
Elvira was used in medieval Spain. Donna Elvira in Mozart’s Don Giovanni provides a later operatic association, while the details of the name’s Germanic formation remain uncertain.
Elvira through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 27,278
- 44 boys · 27,234 girls
- Most popular year
- 1920
- 592 babies
- 2025
- 119
- #1,715 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +31%
- Rising
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 119 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 1,715 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 31.2% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 592 in 1920. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (19). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 31,500 as a first name in 2020; 819 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.
Elvira’s family of names
In East Central German usage, Elvira has a diminutive in ELVIER. In Spanish usage, Elvira has a later derivative in Elvi. Elvira has a conventional equivalent in the German form Ella.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Elvira has relatives in 11 languages. Lines run from its Latin roots to each of them.
11 related names in 11 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 7
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 2
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 11
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- Ellasee also · German
- Eliraequivalent
- Elviderivative · Estonian
- Elmiraequivalent
- Alviraequivalent
- ElvireFrench
- Эльвираborrowing · Russian
- Elvíraderivative · Slovak
Show 3 moreShow fewer
People named Elvira
- Elvira LindoSpanish writerborn 1962
- Elvira NabiullinaRussian economist and Governor of the Bank of Russiaborn 1963
- Elvira ÖbergSwedish biathleteborn 1999
- Elvira of Castile, Queen of SicilyQueen of Sicily1100–1135
- Elvira Rawson de DellepianeArgentine physician (1867–1954)
- Elvira DonesAlbanian writerborn 1960
- Elvira de Hidalgooperatic soprano and pedagogue (1891–1980)
- Elvira NotariItalian film director (1875–1946)
- Elvira of Castile, Queen of LeónLeonese queen978–1017
Characters named Elvira: Elvira Hancock (Scarface).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
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If you love Elvira, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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