Elke

Elke
Pronunciation Elke: German: [ˈɛlkə], English: /ˈɛlkə/
Elka: German: [ˈɛlka], English: /ˈɛlkə/
Elkie: English: /ˈɛlki/
Alke: German: [ˈalkə]
Gender Female
Language(s) Low German and East Frisian, Yiddish
Origin
Meaning "of noble birth"
Other names
Related names Adelheid, Elkan, Elkanah, Elkie, Elka and Alke
Popularity see popular names

Elke (Éhl-kah) is a feminine given name. Different sources give different accounts of its origin. One source describes it as a Low German and East Frisian diminutive of Adelheid, meaning "of noble birth".[1] Another states that it originated as a Yiddish feminine variant of Elkan, which itself came from the Biblical name Elkanah.[2]

In English-speaking countries, the variant Elkie was popularised by the singer Elkie Brooks.[2] Other German variants of the name include Elka and Alke.[1]

In the United States, the 1990 Census found that Elke was the 2,588th most common given name for women, being held by about 0.002% of the female population at the time, while the other variants Elkie, Elka, and Alke were not among the names held by at least 0.001% of the female population (the most common 4,275 names).[3]

People

Elke

Elka

Elkie

  • Elkie Brooks (born Elaine Bookbinder, 1945), English singer
  • Elkie Chong (born Chong Ting-yan, 1998), Hong Kong singer

Fictional characters

References

  1. 1 2 Schaffer-Suchomel, Joachim (2009). Nomen est Omen: Die verborgene Botschaft der Vornamen - Von Adam bis Zarah. Arkana Publishing. pp. 47–48. ISBN 9783641016722. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
  2. 1 2 Hanks, Patrick; Hardcastle, Kate; Hodges, Flavia (2006). A Dictionary of First Names. Oxford University Press. p. 171. ISBN 9780198610601. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
  3. ↑ "Names Files". 1990 Census. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
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