The Greek form of Elijah, from Hebrew meaning my God is Yahweh.
Ilias is the Greek form of Elijah, itself from the Hebrew Eliyahu (אֵלִיָּהוּ), meaning "my God is Yahweh" — a declaration of faith compressed into a personal name. The name entered Greek through the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures, and was subsequently adopted into the Greek Orthodox Christian tradition where it has flourished for nearly two millennia. It is the form most commonly used in Greece, Cyprus, and Greek diaspora communities around the world, distinct from the Latin Elias or the English Elijah.
The prophet Elijah — Ilias in the Greek tradition — is one of the most dramatic figures in the Hebrew Bible. He called down fire from heaven, confronted the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel, fled into the wilderness in despair, and was ultimately taken up to heaven in a chariot of fire without dying. In the Greek Orthodox Church, the Prophet Ilias (Profitis Ilias) is venerated on July 20th, and hilltop chapels dedicated to him dot the Greek landscape, a tradition rooted in the belief that his fiery ascent connects him to the heights and the sky.
He is also significant in Islamic tradition as the prophet Ilyas. In Greece the name has been consistently popular across centuries, carried by saints, Byzantine scholars, and ordinary families alike. Its usage spread through the Greek diaspora to Australia, the United States, Germany, and beyond during the 20th century. Outside Greece, Ilias offers an appealing combination of deep antiquity and modern wearability — it is recognizable to many European and English-speaking ears through its kinship with Elias and Elijah, yet its Greek spelling and pronunciation give it a distinctly Mediterranean character.