Elke (''see panel for pronunciation'') is a feminine given name. Different sources give different accounts of its origin. One source describes it as a

Low German Low German is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language variety, language spoken mainly in Northern Germany and the northeastern Netherlands. The dialect of Plautdietsch is also spoken in the Russian Mennonite diaspora worldwide. "Low" ...

and East Frisian diminutive of

Adelheid Adelheid is the modern Dutch and German form of the Old High German female given name Adalheid, meaning "nobility" or "noble-ness". It may refer to the following people: * Saint Adelheid or Adelaide of Italy, (931–999), Holy Roman Empress and ...

, meaning "of noble birth". Another states that it originated as a

Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...

feminine variant of Elkan, which itself came from the Biblical name

Elkanah Elkanah ( ''’Ĕlqānā'' "El (deity), El has purchased") was, according to the Books of Samuel, First Book of Samuel, the husband of Hannah (biblical figure), Hannah, and the father of her children including her first, Samuel. Elkanah practiced ...

. In English-speaking countries, the variant Elkie was popularised by the singer

Elkie Brooks Elkie Brooks (born Elaine Bookbinder; 25 February 1945) is an English Rock music, rock, blues and jazz singer. She was a vocalist with the bands Dada and Vinegar Joe (band), Vinegar Joe, and later became a solo artist. She gained her biggest su ...

. Other German variants of the name include Elka and Alke. 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).

People

Elke

Elke Aberle Elke Aberle (born 1 July 1950) is a German actress. Aberle is particularly known for her early work, as a child actress. She received a Bambi Award in 1965. Selected filmography * ''Love'' (1956) * '' Widower with Five Daughters'' (1957) * ' ...

(born 1950), German actress * Elke Altmann (born 1957), German politician *

Elke Clijsters Elke Clijsters (born 18 January 1985) is a former professional tennis player from Belgium. Career Elke won the 2002 girls' Wimbledon Championships doubles title with Barbora Strýcová, and the girls' US Open doubles title with compatriot Kir ...

(born 1985), Belgian table tennis player * Elke Drüll (born 1956), German field hockey player *

Elke Felten Erika "Elke" Felten (born 13 July 1943) is a West German sprint canoer who competed in the mid-1960s. She finished fourth in the K-1 500 m event at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo while competing for the United Team of Germany, and won a si ...

(born 1943), German sprint canoeist *

Elke Gebhardt Elke Gebhardt (born 22 July 1983) is a German former racing cyclist. She competed in the 2013 UCI women's road race in Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city ...

(born 1983), German racing cyclist * Elke Van Gorp (born 1995), Belgian football player *

Elke Hanel-Torsch Elke Hanel-Torsch (born 18 September 1981) is an Austrian politician and member of the National Council. A member of the Social Democratic Party, she has represented Vienna since October 2024. Hanel-Torsch was born on 18 September 1981 in St. ...

(born 1981), Austrian politician *

Elke Heidenreich Elke Heidenreich (née Riegert; born 15 February 1943) is a German author, TV presenter, literary critic and journalist. She has written audio plays, a magazine column, scripts for television plays and books. Heidenreich is known as the ''Kabaret ...

(born 1943), German journalist * Elke Hipler (born 1978), German rower * Elke Hoff (born 1957), German politician * Elke-Karin Morciniec (born 1943), Polish equestrian *

Elke Karsten Elke Josselinne Karsten (born 15 May 1995) is an Argentine handball player for Molde Elite and the Argentina women's national handball team. She defended Argentina at the 2013 World Women's Handball Championship in Serbia. Achievements *Norweg ...

(born 1995), Argentine handball player * Elke König (born 1954), German financial regulator * Elke Krystufek (born 1970), Austrian artist *

Elke Maravilha Elke Maravilha ( Grünupp; 22 February 1945 – 16 August 2016) was a German-Brazilian actress, model and television personality. She lived in Brazil from her early childhood until her death. Biography Maravilha was born to a Latvian father a ...

(1945–2016), German-born Brazilian actress *

Elke Neidhardt Elke Cordelia Neidhardt AM (5 July 194125 November 2013) was a West German born actress and opera and theatre director. She spent most of her career after 1967 in Australia and became an Australian citizen in 2007. She appeared in theatre, tele ...

(1941–2013), German-born Australian actress *

Elke Philipp Elke Philipp (born 4 February 1964) is a German Paralympic equestrian. Philipp has had cerebellar ataxia since 1984 when she suffered from a swelling of the brain due to Viral meningitis. This resulted in her staying in hospital for 18 months ...

(born 1964), German Paralympic equestrian * Elke Radlingsmaier (born 1943), German fencer *

Elke Rehder Elke Rehder (born 1953) is a German artist living in Barsbüttel Germany. Life and work Elke Rehder studied at the Heatherley School of Fine Art in London (1979–80). During that time she was predominantly active as a sculptor, where she creat ...

(born 1953), German artist * Elke Roex (born 1974), Belgian politician *

Elke Schall Elke Schall,(born 19 July 1973 in Speyer) is a professional table tennis player from Germany. She has an offensive, looping style. She competed at five consecutive Olympics from 1992 to 2008. Her doubles partner at the first four Olympics was N ...

(born 1973), German table tennis player * Elke Schmitter (born 1961), German journalist and author * Elke Sehmisch (born 1955), German swimmer *

Elke Slagt-Tichelman Elke Slagt-Tichelman (born 18 February 1977) is a Dutch politician representing GroenLinks who was elected to the House of Representatives in the 2023 Dutch general election. Her focus is on long-term healthcare, preventive care, and medical et ...

(born 1977), Dutch politician *

Elke Sleurs Elke Sleurs (born 6 February 1968, in Ghent) is a Belgian politician and is affiliated with the N-VA. Sleurs is a gynaecologist. She was elected as a member of the Belgian Senate in 2010. After the 2014 elections Sleurs was elected as a member ...

(born 1968), Belgian politician *

Elke Sommer Elke Sommer (; née Schletz, 5 November 1940) is a German actress. She appeared in numerous films throughout the 1960s and 1970s, including roles in ''The Pink Panther'' sequel '' A Shot in the Dark'' (1964), the Bob Hope comedy '' Boy, Did I ...

(born 1940), German actress *

Elke Reva Sudin Elke Reva Sudin (born 1987) is an American painter, illustrator, fashion designer, and lecturer. In 2010, her ''Hipsters and Hassids'' painting series premiered in New York City, comparing and contrasting the Hasidic Jewish and hipster Brooklyn ...

(born 1987), American artist *

Elke Talma Elke Sabina Talma (born 29 April 1977) is a Seychellois former swimmer. At the 1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics (, ), officially the Games of the XXV Olympiad (, ) and officially branded as Barcelona '92, were an internationa ...

(born 1977), Seychellois swimmer * Elke Tindemans (born 1961), Belgian politician *

Elke Tsang Kai-mong Elke Tsang Kai-mong () was a 30 year old female Hongkongers, Hongkonger who was executed in Singapore after being charged and found guilty with smuggling over 4 kg of diamorphine into the country. Tsang, the daughter of a high-ranking Hong Ko ...

(1964–1994), Hong Kong drug trafficker * Elke Twesten (born 1963), German politician * Elke Vanhoof (born 1991), Belgian BMX rider *

Elke Voelker Elke Voelker (born April 3, 1968, in Lampertheim, Hesse) is a German organist, church musician and musicologist. Biography Elke Voelker studied organ, church music, German and Roman languages and musicology at the universities of Mannheim, Mainz ...

(born 1968), German organist *

Elke U. Weber Elke U. Weber (born April 6, 1957) is a Professor of Psychology and Public Affairs at Princeton University where she holds the Gerhard R. Andlinger Professorship in Energy & the Environment. Prior to moving to Princeton in 2016, she spent 19 yea ...

, American business professor *

Elke Winkens Elke Winkens, née Fischer (born 25 March 1970) is an Austrian-German actress. She grew up in Germany in the district Ratheim in Hückelhoven. Because of her father's work the family moved to The Netherlands and Belgium; for some time she also ...

(born 1970), German and Austrian actress * Elke Wölfling (born 1971), Austrian hurdler

Elka

Elka Graham Elka Graham (born 20 October 1981), now known by her married name Elka Whalan, is an Australian former competition swimmer who swam in the 2000 Sydney Olympics and 2004 Athens Olympics. Graham specialised in the 200-metre and 400-metre frees ...

(born 1981), Australian swimmer * Elka de Levie (1905–1979), Dutch gymnast * Elka Nikolova, Bulgarian-born American film director *

Elka Todorova Elka Todorova () is a researcher in the fields of sociology, psychology, and social work, working in the Institute of Sociology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences as a senior research associate. She is the author of 6 books and over 35 articles, s ...

(born 1956), Bulgarian sociologist and psychologist * Elka Wardega, Australian makeup artist

Elkie

(born Elaine Bookbinder, 1945), English singer *

Elkie Chong Chong Ting-yan, known professionally as Elkie Chong, (born 2 November 1998) is a Hong Kong singer and actress currently based in mainland China. She was previously a child-actress under in Hong Kong’s TVB and has appeared on several televisio ...

(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 ''The Rider on the White Horse'' (German: ''Der Schimmelreiter'') is a Gothic fiction novella by German writer Theodor Storm. It is his last complete work, first published in 1888, the year of his death. The novella is Storm's best remembered and ...

'' by Theodor Storm *

Elka Ostrovsky ''Hot in Cleveland'' is an American television sitcom aired on TV Land and starring Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves, Wendie Malick, and Betty White. The series, which was TV Land's first original series, premiered on June 16, 2010, and was T ...

, from the 2010–2015 American television show ''Hot in Cleveland'' * Fräulein Elke, a travesti performer from the 1972 film ''

Cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, casino, hotel, restaurant, or nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or drinking, ...

References

External links

Elke
at Beliebte Vornamen
IGI Individual Record: Catheren Elke
at the FamilySearch.org website of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints {{given name Feminine given names German feminine given names Dutch feminine given names