Elian is a Spanish name that is usually explained in two ways: as a form of the Roman family name Aelianus, "sun" or "of the sun" from the Greek helios, or as a blend of Elias and Ian, so "my God is Yahweh". The name became known across America in 2000 through the case of the Cuban boy Elián González. Elian ranked 426th in the United States that year and has climbed steeply since 2015, from number 688 to number 147 in 2025.