Elkin is of Hebrew origin, meaning 'my God is my strength.' It is a variant spelling of the more common form, Elijah. The name gained prominence during the Middle Ages and has since been used sporadically throughout various cultures.
The name Elkin experienced significant fluctuations in popularity over the years. While it had a strong start with several births each year from 1914 to 1922, it then declined significantly until the late 1970s. After 1976, there was a renewed interest in the name, with varying numbers of births per year up until 2023. The most popular years recently were 2010, 2021, and 2022, with 20 or more births each year. Overall, there have been a total of 314 recorded births named Elkin since 1914.