Names Hebrew Male

Elijah

Also: Elias (Greek and Latin form), Ilya (Russian)

Meaning

Hebrew "my God is YHWH."

Figure

Prophet of Israel; confronted the prophets of Baal at Mount Carmel (1 Kings 17-19; 2 Kings 1-2).

Feast day

July 20 (Catholic and Orthodox)

Traditions
CATHOLICORTHODOXANGLICANPROTESTANT

In the Christian tradition

Elijah is the great prophet of the ninth century BC, the figure of the confrontation with the prophets of Baal at Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18) and of the still small voice on Horeb (1 Kings 19). The name has been continuously in Christian use; the Catholic and Orthodox calendars commemorate him on July 20.

Elijah's departure from earth in the fiery chariot (2 Kings 2) and his appearance with Moses at the Transfiguration of Jesus (Matthew 17:1-8) make him a figure of unusual theological weight. Christian tradition reads him as a type of John the Baptist and as a prefiguration of the Christian witness against idolatry. The Carmelite religious order takes him as patron and traces its origin to a community of hermits on Mount Carmel. The name remains in continuous Christian use, often in English-speaking Protestant and Evangelical families in recent decades.