Elif

Elif: name meaning, origin & popularity

Meaning
“slender, tall; also first letter alif”
Origin
Arabic
Say it
eh-LEEF · 2 syllables
Used for
Girls

Elif is a very common Turkish feminine name from the name of the first letter of the Arabic alphabet, alif. In Turkish naming it is often associated with slimness or graceful tallness.

How popular is Elif?

202434.0 per million US babies
1880192019602000
Drag the line or the slider to read any year. Values are per million US births recorded by Social Security. Records before about 1937 undercount births, so early peaks can look taller than they were.

Babies named Elif in 2024114

2024 rank#1,767 girls

Peak year2024

Total US babies since 18801,429

Elif is rising: use over the last five years is 1.8× what it was a decade earlier.

Names like Elif

Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.

  • Laylanight · Arabic
  • Lylanight · Arabic
  • Aaliyahexalted, rising · Arabic
  • Amiraprincess; commander · Arabic
  • Lilahnight · Arabic
  • Lilanight · Arabic
  • Nylaattainer; successful · Arabic
  • Zarablooming flower · Arabic

Elif questions

What does the name Elif mean?

Elif means "slender, tall; also first letter alif". It comes from Arabic. Elif is a very common Turkish feminine name from the name of the first letter of the Arabic alphabet, alif. In Turkish naming it is often associated with slimness or graceful tallness.

Is Elif a boy or girl name?

Elif is mainly a girl's name in US records (100% of uses since 1880).

How popular is Elif?

114 US babies were named Elif in 2024. Its peak year was 2024.

How do you pronounce Elif?

Elif is usually pronounced eh-LEEF.

Birth counts: US Social Security Administration national data, 1880–2024 (names given to 5+ babies of a sex in a year). How we write meanings.