Elke

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]

Elke
PronunciationElke: German: [ˈɛlkə], English: /ˈɛlkə/
Elka: German: [ˈɛlka], English: /ˈɛlkə/
Elkie: English: /ˈɛlki/
Alke: German: [ˈalkə]
GenderFemale
Language(s)Low German and East Frisian, Yiddish
Origin
Meaning"of noble birth"
Other names
Related namesAdelheid, Elkan, Elkanah, Elkie, Elka and Alke
Popularitysee popular names
For the 1988 punk song by Die Ärzte, see Elke (song).

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
  • Elke Haien, the wife of the main character in the 1888 German novel The Rider on the White Horse by Theodor Storm
  • Elka Ostrovsky, from the 2010–2015 American television show Hot in Cleveland
  • Fräulein Elke, a travesti performer from the 1972 film Cabaret

References
  1. 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. 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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