# Elgar (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/elgar/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | not recorded |
| Meaning | “elf”, “spear”, “noble” |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | Alger |
| US babies named this | 63 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 63 / 0 (0% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | not in the ONS data |

## Etymology

From Old English Ælfgār (from Proto-Germanic *Albigaizaz, equivalent to ælf (“elf”) + gār (“spear”)) and from Old English Æþelgār (from Proto-Germanic *Aþalagaizaz, equivalent to æþele (“noble”) + gār (“spear”)).

## What it means

Elgar is grouped under noble and sword.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1914 | 7 | 2,730 |
| 1915 | 9 | 2,685 |
| 1920 | 6 | 3,954 |
| 1921 | 9 | 3,048 |
| 1922 | 9 | 3,086 |
| 1989 | 5 | 8,271 |
| 1990 | 5 | 8,516 |
| 1992 | 6 | 7,739 |
| 1994 | 7 | 7,196 |

## In other languages

- Chinese: 埃爾加 /埃尔加
- Dutch: Adelger
- German: Adelger
- Icelandic: Aðalgeir

## People named Elgar

- Elgar Howarth, English conductor, composer and trumpeter (1935–2025)
- Neal E. Miller, American psychologist and academic (1909-2002)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.