Ellie Name Meaning

An adorable name that got her start as a nickname, Ellie has risen to become a regular on today’s playgrounds. Precious and playful, little Ellie has won over parents with her sweet sound.

While Ellie is an old-school darling, she didn’t hit the U.S. Top 100 until 2011. Her nickname roots do influence this, however, so she may pop up more than you may think as names like Eleanor and Elizabeth are more popular and may have her as a shortened form. She has been appearing more and more in today’s films from Up to Jurassic Park. This Hollywood use may further increase her popularity.

Ellie has a vintage cutesy feel like Betty and Daisy but wears well in today’s world of Zoey and Avery. She isn’t a name that takes herself too seriously, letting her hair down and rolling up her sleeves to have a blast. She’s easy going and approachable, a beacon of fun in an all too serious world. She’s teeming with spunk, ready to spread her wings and take the world by the reins.

Less common names that could lead to Ellie are Eliana and Elora. She also has some spelling alternatives like Elly and Elli.

Infographic of Ellie name meaning, which is Originally a shortened form of common El- names like Elizabeth, Ellie is an English name.
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Ellie Name Popularity

How popular is the name Ellie? Here’s everything we know.

Year Rank # Births % Births
1910 524 27 0.0077%
1911 576 22 0.0059%
1912 589 35 0.0069%
1913 534 55 0.0097%
1914 611 46 0.0066%
1915 684 57 0.0063%
1916 657 67 0.0069%
1917 703 57 0.0057%
1918 583 104 0.0097%
1919 679 65 0.0062%
1920 735 58 0.0052%
1921 748 59 0.0052%
1922 674 75 0.0067%
1923 799 49 0.0044%
1924 766 59 0.0051%
1925 711 70 0.0062%
1926 795 47 0.0043%
1927 785 49 0.0044%
1928 847 37 0.0035%
1929 905 28 0.0027%
1930 848 36 0.0034%
1931 1,002 19 0.0019%
1932 1,243 10 0.001%
1933 972 20 0.0021%
1934 1,021 17 0.0018%
1935 1,069 15 0.0015%
1936 836 30 0.0031%
1937 894 26 0.0026%
1938 1,330 7 0.0007%
1939 1,214 10 0.001%
1940 1,530 5 0.0005%
1941 1,173 13 0.0012%
1942 — 0 0%
1943 1,399 10 0.0008%
1944 — 0 0%
1945 1,188 14 0.0011%
1946 1,879 5 0.0003%
1947 1,842 5 0.0003%
1948 1,784 6 0.0004%
1949 1,704 6 0.0004%
1950 1,449 11 0.0007%
1951 1,429 13 0.0008%
1952 — 0 0%
1953 1,337 18 0.001%
1954 1,352 19 0.001%
1955 1,593 12 0.0007%
1956 1,520 16 0.0008%
1957 1,913 6 0.0003%
1958 1,643 12 0.0006%
1959 1,535 17 0.0009%
1960 1,426 23 0.0012%
1961 1,636 15 0.0008%
1962 1,573 17 0.0009%
1963 — 0 0%
1964 1,638 15 0.0009%
1965 1,511 18 0.0011%
1966 2,228 5 0.0003%
1967 1,837 11 0.0007%
1968 1,893 10 0.0007%
1969 — 0 0%
1970 1,952 12 0.0008%
1971 — 0 0%
1972 1,791 15 0.0011%
1973 1,867 13 0.001%
1974 2,458 5 0.0004%
1975 1,592 24 0.0019%
1976 1,748 18 0.0014%
1977 2,005 14 0.001%
1978 2,022 13 0.001%
1979 1,384 42 0.003%
1980 2,249 12 0.0008%
1981 2,038 17 0.0012%
1982 1,627 30 0.002%
1983 1,863 19 0.0013%
1984 3,055 5 0.0003%
1985 2,448 10 0.0007%
1986 2,511 10 0.0007%
1987 1,497 42 0.0028%
1988 1,370 53 0.0034%
1989 1,190 84 0.0052%
1990 1,154 100 0.006%
1991 1,101 115 0.0071%
1992 925 163 0.0102%
1993 777 215 0.0138%
1994 819 197 0.0128%
1995 625 304 0.0202%
1996 604 334 0.0223%
1997 529 406 0.0275%
1998 436 568 0.0379%
1999 392 681 0.0455%
2000 361 794 0.052%
2001 336 884 0.0587%
2002 200 1,601 0.1068%
2003 185 1,712 0.1125%
2004 190 1,805 0.1184%
2005 184 1,870 0.1223%
2006 177 1,967 0.1256%
2007 175 1,991 0.1262%
2008 167 1,981 0.1282%
2009 145 2,223 0.1487%
2010 104 2,903 0.2014%
2011 97 3,052 0.2142%
2012 83 3,383 0.2374%
2013 74 3,761 0.2642%
2014 55 4,476 0.3072%
2015 47 4,860 0.334%
2016 43 5,060 0.3509%
2017 44 4,984 0.3571%
2018 37 5,190 0.3778%
2019 35 5,404 0.3992%
2020 28 5,449 0.4281%
2021 29 5,473 0.4477%
2022 33 5,761 0.4367%

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Data via SSA.gov.

Names Like Ellie

If you like Ellie, you’ll love these other names like Ellie.

What names are diminutives of Ellie?

A diminutive is a name that’s like Ellie sounds, you might also like these names that sound like Ellie, but shorter.

Name Meaning Origin Popularity Other Gender
El

Sun ray, shining light

Greek

Elle

She

French

What names are variants of Ellie?

Mix it up with these names that are a variation of the name Ellie.

Name Meaning Origin Popularity Other Gender
Ellee

Other, foreign; sun ray, shining light

Greek

Elli

Noble, exalted; sun ray, shining light; other, foreign

Greek

What names sound like Ellie?

If you like how Ellie sounds, you might also like these names that sound like Ellie.

Name Meaning Origin Popularity Other Gender
Allie

Shortened Al- name form

English

Bella

Beautiful one

Italian

Ella

Other goddess

Hebrew

Ellen

Sun ray, shining light

Greek

Ellia

Other, foreign

German

Elsa

God's promise; God is my oath

Hebrew

Elsie

God is my oath

English

Etta

A diminutive form of Henrietta, “mistress of the home.”

Italian

Ollie

Olive tree

Latin

What names are similar to Ellie?

Find a name that’s like Ellie, but just a little bit different.

Name Meaning Origin Popularity Other Gender
Anna

Gracious

Hebrew

Ava

To live

Latin

Daisy

Daisy flower

English

Hannah

Grace

Hebrew

Harper

Harp Player

English

Mia

Dear

Scandinavian

Molly

Of the sea

English

Natalie

Christmas Day

French

Olivia

Olive tree

Latin

Tessa

Harvest

Greek

Lists With Ellie

Find inspiration in these baby girl name lists featuring the name Ellie.

Siblings of Ellie

Mamas with kids named Ellie also have kids with these names.

Name Meaning Origin Popularity Other Gender
Ryleigh

Rye clearing

English

28 Comments

  1. Her smile is everything to me.

    Reply

  2. Something unique and beautiful ?

    Reply

  3. Great grandma was named Eleanor nickname Ellie.

    Reply

  4. When I became pregnant, my father in law would rub my belly and ask how his little Ellie Mae was doing. My husband and I then spent our entire pregnancy arguing about what names we liked best. Finally we both agreed Ellie sounded right and built a family tie with her Grandpa for her life.

    We liked Ellie because it was short but feminine. It felt like a name for a girl who would pave her own way in life and not be held back by others. We loved that it had some fun playful rhymes too. Like Ellie Belly and Ellie Jelly. We also like that it can be shortened further to Ell or Elles.

    We disliked how many people mispronounce her name to Aly instead of Ellie. Many people I believe will also misspell it.

    Reply

  5. It’s short for Elizabeth, my middle name and my mothers name.

    Reply

  6. I absolutely love it! It is her nickname. Her full name is Eloise which I adore!

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  7. We loved the meaning, “God is my light”

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  8. Ellie is short for Eleanor

    Reply

  9. We’ve had a long journey to get our baby in our arms. Five years of unexplained infertility, failed IUI treatments as well as a failed IVF & transfer to a miscarriage. We loved the name Ellie, but one day came across the name Eliana which means God has answered. Her full name is Eliana and we knew it was meant to be. The meaning hit right and we could use Ellie as a nickname!

    Reply

  10. It rhymed with my other daughters names ?

    Reply

  11. I’d go with Eliana (nn Ellie). It sounds more professional for resumes, etc. I agree that Aliana (nn Ali/Allie) is elegant/stunning as well.

    Reply

  12. Meaning of name

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  13. As an Ellie, if you’re considering naming your kid Ellie, I encourage you to go with a longer name like Elizabeth or Elliana, since I’ve been stuck with my name my whole life and it’s just so boring and childish. It seems cute for a little kid, but it doesn’t work as well as you get older.

    Reply

    • Can you just go by something else like Elizabeth? Just like people say my name is XX but I go by XX

      Reply

    • I think that Ellie is a better name than nothing. But, some people have their opinions, like you. My name Ellie is short for Ellison.

      Reply

  14. We personally prefer Allie (or Ali) over Ellie. They are both beautiful though.

    Reply

  15. Eric thought if Ellie after seeing her. He thought it fit her curly hair better than any of the names we had already picked out.

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  16. We loved the name it means (God is my light)!

    Reply

  17. We wanted a cute girly name to go with Jane for middle name. We went through several different ones until we stumbled upon Ellie and thought the combination was perfect. Ellie Jane <3

    Reply

    • Ellie Jane is my top name if we have another girl!

      Reply

  18. My name is Ellie people make fun of my name I don’t know why but when I was little everybody liked me and now little kids love me and say munchies name is a beautiful girl and name

    Reply

  19. It was one name that my husband and I both liked so we went with it!

    Reply

  20. I chose that name when I was I little girl something about it just always stuck with me. I came to really like it after she was born because I found out that biblically it mean God is my light God is my candle. And she was born at 24 weeks and is fighting everyday to be able to come home ( she is doing very well) I don’t think I could have picked a better name for my baby.

    Reply

  21. Love her !!

    Reply

  22. Ellie is named after her great grandmother. Her official name is Elinor but we will call her Ellie.

    Reply

  23. I just liked Ellie

    Reply

  24. My husband fell in love with the name. Origins are important to me and it has Hebrew origins which I loved and means “God is my light” – we hope our Ellie will always allow God to be her light.

    Reply

  25. Ellie is short for Eleanor. We love that Eleanor means shining light.

    Reply

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