girl's name
Ellie
EL-ee
- Origin English
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 2
- Letters 5
- Popularity Top 100 (US)
- Births on record 203,245
the United States
#24
2025 births
Ellie is a girl's name that began as a short form of Eleanor, Ellen, and Elizabeth, and is now widely given as a name in its own right. Because it draws on several parent names with different roots, it has no single inherited meaning.
- Ellie is a name of English origin.
- Peaked in 2024, when 6,322 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 537 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Ellie over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 346 |
| 1890s | 516 |
| 1900s | 613 |
| 1910s | 974 |
| 1920s | 981 |
| 1930s | 600 |
| 1940s | 534 |
| 1950s | 622 |
| 1960s | 623 |
| 1970s | 585 |
| 1980s | 782 |
| 1990s | 3,564 |
| 2000s | 17,061 |
| 2010s | 43,299 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 35,757 |
What Ellie means
Ellie has no meaning of its own, since it developed as an affectionate short form rather than from a root word. Its sense is borrowed from whichever parent name is intended: Eleanor, whose own root is uncertain, Ellen, linked to the Greek Helene, or Elizabeth, meaning "God is my oath."
Where Ellie comes from
Ellie is a diminutive formed by taking the opening syllable of a longer name and adding the -ie ending that English uses to make pet forms, the same pattern behind Katie, Maggie, and Josie. Its parent names are several and unrelated: Eleanor, from the Old Occitan Aliénor; Ellen, an English form of Helen, from the Greek Helenē; and Elizabeth, from the Hebrew Elisheva. Because the short form is shared, Ellie cannot be assigned a single etymology. It followed the common path from nickname to independent name over the twentieth century and is now routinely given on its own rather than as a shortening of anything.
How popular is Ellie?
In 2025, Ellie was given to 6,176 babies in the United States, ranking #24 that year. It is one of the most popular names in the United States.
Where Ellie is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
How Ellie is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Éllie | Éllie is Ellie written with an acute accent, used in France, where it ranks #1,997. | 150 |
Names that peaked alongside Ellie
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Ellie also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Ellie over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Ellie in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Ellie
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Ellie — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Ellie
What does the name Ellie mean?
Ellie has no meaning of its own — it is a short form of names including Eleanor, Ellen, and Elizabeth.
Is Ellie short for Eleanor?
It can be, but Ellie is also a short form of Ellen and Elizabeth, and is now commonly given as a full name.
Is Ellie a real name on its own?
Yes. Ellie has been given as an independent name for decades rather than only as a nickname.
How popular is the name Ellie?
In 2025, Ellie was given to 6,176 babies in the United States, ranking #24 that year. It is one of the most popular names in the United States.
Is Ellie a girl's or a boy's name?
Ellie is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Ellie?
Ellie has 2 syllables.
When was Ellie most popular?
Ellie peaked in 2024, when 6,322 babies were given the name. It has been rising over the past decade.
Is Ellie a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Ellie currently ranks #15 in the United States. It has been rising over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.