Ella
Girl nameElla has been given to 352,214 babies in the U.S. since 1880. It peaked in 2010 and currently ranks #29 for girls (2025).
Meaning & origin /ˈɛl.ə/
A 19th-century shortening of Eleanor or Ellen, later also used for any name ending in -ella, such as Gabriella or Daniella. Similar abbreviations have been formed independently in many European languages, for any name containing the syllable -el-, e.g. Elisabeth.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Popularity over time births per year, 1880–2025
Total babies
352,214
Peak year
2010 (9,898 babies)
Rank in 2025
#29 for girls
First recorded
1880
10-year trend
▼ -26%
Gender split
100% girls / 0% boys
Famous people named Ella
Ella Fitzgerald
American jazz singer (1917–1996)
Lorde
New Zealand singer, songwriter and producer (born 1996)
Ella Purnell
English-born British actress (born 1996)
Ella Josephine Baker
African-American civil rights and human rights activist (1903–1986)
Notability data from Wikidata (CC0).
Names with a similar vibe
Same primary gender, peaked around the same years, and roughly as common as Ella.
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