Elvira

Where Elvira comes from

A medieval Spanish royal name, of probably Gothic origin, and debated meaning, possibly 𐌲𐌰𐌹𐌻𐌾𐌰𐌽 (gailjan) + *𐍅𐌴𐍂𐌴𐌹 (*wērei), thus "joyful sincerity". It became famous outside Spain after its appearance in Mozart's Don Giovanni (1787). The place name Elvira is a contraction of the older Illiberi, new city.
— Wiktionary's entry for Elvira
  • Spanish
  • Vowel-ended
Along the way
  1. 1880
    First SSA year
    Already #282 among girls — 30 babies in the first year on record.
  2. 1914
    Peak, #254
    405 babies named Elvira — more than any year before or since.
  3. 1957
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #715.
  4. 1962
    Elvira Lindo born
    Spanish writer
  5. 1963
    Elvira Nabiullina born
    Russian economist and Governor of the Bank of Russia
In the dictionary
  • A female given name from Spanish, in quiet use since the 19th century.
Namesakes
  • Elvira Lindo · Spanish writer, born 1962
  • Elvira Nabiullina · Russian economist and Governor of the Bank of Russia, born 1963
  • Elvira Öberg · Swedish biathlete, born 1999
  • Elvira of Leon · Queen of Sicily, 1103–1135
  • Elvira Rawson · Argentine physician, 1867–1954

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.