Elif

Did you know?

A few things about Elif you might not know, from US birth records and Wikipedia. Handy for convincing a partner, or a grandparent.

⭐ Famous Elif

Elif Şafak

Turkish writer (born 1971)

Choose Elif and your child shares a first name with Elif Şafak, a Turkish writer. A ready-made answer when someone asks “Elif, like who?” Elif Şafak's Wikipedia article is available in 78 languages, a good sign of just how widely known they are.

Read about Elif Şafak on Wikipedia ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Photo: JaceMerlyn, CC BY-SA 4.0 (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons

• 👶How commonAbout 1 in every 15,924 baby girls born in the US in 2025 was named Elif, 101 babies in all. In a typical school of 500 kids, your Elif would very likely be the only one.
• 📜HistoryElif first shows up in US birth records in 1977, the first year at least 5 babies got it. It has been in use for 48 years since.
• 🏆Best yearIts best year was 2024, when it reached #1,753.
• 📈Then vs nowElif is 13× more common today than it was in 2000. In 2000 it was given to about 1 in 200,000 baby girls; in 2025, about 1 in 15,924.
• 🚀TrendElif has climbed 305 places in the US rankings over the last five years and now sits at #1,911. Fast risers like this often keep climbing, so expect to hear it more.
• 📍Where it's lovedElif is most popular in New York, where it ranks #947. It's in the top 1,000 in 1 state.
• 💬MeaningIn Turkish, Elif means “slender, upright”.

About the name Elif

Elif is a girl name meaning “slender, upright”. It has 4 letters and 2 syllables, starting with E and ending in “-lif”. US birth records list Elif for girls from 1977 to 2025, in 44 of those 49 years. Its best year was 2024, when it ranked #1,753 among girl names. In 2025 it ranked #1,911, with 101 babies.