Ellen

“Variant of Helen — To shine, burn, or glow (Proto-Indo-European root swel-)” — Greek (via Helen) origin

Girl's name · #1062 in the US (2025) · Timeless

Few names move less than Ellen — on the books since 1880, #1062 in 2025, and dependable in between. Roughly 275,000 girls share it. In all that time it has never once missed a year of the national records. Ellen's short forms are Ella, Nellie, and Nell. About 6,100 girls a year are given Ella as their full name.

Around the world: #10 in Finland (Swedish-sp.) (2025) · #12 in Finland (Finnish-sp.) (2025) · #18 in Denmark (2025) · #40 in Sweden (2025).

Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 28 states. See the full state-by-state map on this page.

Famous Ellens

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf — 24th president of Liberia
Ellen DeGeneres — American comedian, television host, actress, and writer (born 1958)
Ellen Burstyn — American actress
Ellen G. White — American author, co-founder of the Seventh-day Adventist Church (1827–1915)
Ellen Pompeo — American actress (born 1969)

In stories & tradition

Ellen Ripley — Alien Resurrection · Alien 3
Ellen Tigh — Battlestar Galactica
Ellen Harvelle — Supernatural

What Ellens become

Among 2,343 notable people named Ellen:

Artists & writers appear 1.5× more often than among typical names — e.g. Ellen DeGeneres, American comedian, television host, actress, and writer (born 1958).

Similar names: Helen · Kathryn · Elle · Kathleen · Joan · Karen

Browse more girl names — popularity, trends and eras for 5,700+ American names, free.

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