Gender Masculine
Scripts אֱלִיָּהוּ(Hebrew)
Pronounced Pron. i-LIE-jə(English) i-LIE-zhə(English)  [key·IPA]

Meaning & History

From the Hebrew name אֱלִיָּהוּ ('Eliyyahu) meaning "my God is Yahweh", derived from the elements אֵל ('el) and יָה (yah), both referring to the Hebrew God. Elijah was a Hebrew prophet and miracle worker, as told in the two Books of Kings in the Old Testament. He was active in the 9th century BC during the reign of King Ahab of Israel and his Phoenician-born queen Jezebel. Elijah confronted the king and queen over their idolatry of the Canaanite god Ba'al and other wicked deeds. At the end of his life he was carried to heaven in a chariot of fire, and was succeeded by Elisha. In the New Testament, Elijah and Moses appear next to Jesus when he is transfigured.

Because Elijah was a popular figure in medieval tales, and because his name was borne by a few early saints (who are usually known by the Latin form Elias), the name came into general use during the Middle Ages. In medieval England it was usually spelled Elis. It died out there by the 16th century, but it was revived by the Puritans in the form Elijah after the Protestant Reformation. The name became popular during the 1990s and 2000s, especially in America where it broke into the top ten in 2016.

Related Names

VariantsAlijah(English) Eliya, Eliyahu(Hebrew)
Other Languages & CulturesElias(Amharic) Ilyas(Arabic) Ilyes(Arabic (Maghrebi)) Ilia, Ilya(Belarusian) Elias, Eliou(Biblical Greek) Eliyyahu(Biblical Hebrew) Elias, Helias(Biblical Latin) Ilia, Ilija, Iliya(Bulgarian) Ilija(Croatian) Eliáš, Ilja(Czech) Elias(Danish) Elias, Elian(Dutch) Ilja(Estonian) Eelis, Elias, Eljas(Finnish) Élie(French) Ilia(Georgian) Elias(German) Elias, Ilias(Greek) Illés, Éliás(Hungarian) Elías(Icelandic) Elia(Italian) Ilja, Elijas(Lithuanian) Ilija, Ile(Macedonian) Elis(Medieval English) Elias(Norwegian) Eliasz(Polish) Elias(Portuguese) Ilie(Romanian) Ilia, Ilja, Ilya(Russian) Ilija(Serbian) Elías(Spanish) Elias, Elis, Lias(Swedish) İlyas(Turkish) Illya(Ukrainian)

People think this name is

classic   mature   formal   upper class   natural   wholesome   strong   refined   strange   serious  

Images

Elijah's Ascension by Gustave Doré (1865)Elijah's Ascension by Gustave Doré (1865)

Categories

Entry updated January 21, 2022