Elmo

Italian from German

"protector"

Elmo Origin and Meaning

The name Elmo is a boy's name of Italian origin meaning "protector".

Elmo, like fellow Sesame Street characters Kermit and Grover, has a hard time being taken seriously. (It isn't easy being red either.)

But Elmo also calls to mind the image of St. Elmo's fire--the light show sometimes visible around ships' masts during storms at sea, which is quite appropriate since Saint Elmo (another name for Erasmus) is the patron saint of sailors. St. Elmo's Fire was also the title of a classic Brat Pack film of the 1980s.

There were a lot more Elmos around a century ago, when Elmo was in the top third of the popularity list.

Elmo Rank in US Top 1000

# 941 in the US

Popularity of the name Elmo

• 1230 Nameberry 2025

20 Names Similar to Elmo

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Elmo.

• Sid
• Roosevelt
• Kermit
• Webster
• Burton
• Ernst
• Cletus
• Waldo
• Freeman
• Maxfield
• Nat
• Vern
• Clem
• Hershel
• Marmaduke
• Mungo
• Maynard
• Dorsey
• Pendleton
• Sal

Famous People Named Elmo

• Elmo Langley American NASCAR driver
• Saint Elmo aka Erasmus of Formia Croatian martyr and patron of sailors
• (Saint) Elmo Sylvester Hope American jazz pianist
• Elmo Everett Smith American politician; 27th governor of Oregon
• Elmo Russell "Bud" Zumwalt Jr. U.S. Navy admiral
• (Otto) Elmo Lincoln American actor
• (William) Elmo Tanner American whistler, singer and bandleader
• Saint Elmo Brady first African,American to receive a Ph.D.
• Elmo Shropshire American singer of duo Elmo & Patsy

The name Elmo in Pop Culture

• Elmo red Muppet on TV's "Sesame Street"
• Captain Elmo Armstrong main character in 1919 film "Elmo the Mighty"
• Elmo "Mo" Jones character on TV series "Thief"
• Elmo Putney character on British TV series "Brush Strokes"
• Elmo elf in J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle,Earth
• St. Elmo's Fire weather phenomenon
• St. Elmo's Fire 1985 film