Ellen

English variation of Helen

"torch; shining light"

Ellen Origin and Meaning

The name Ellen is a girl's name of English origin meaning "torch; shining light".

An medieval English form of Helen, the sensitive but clear-eyed Ellen has swung in and out of style for centuries, often alternating with the parent name. Ellen was the more common in medieval England, until after the Renaissance, when Helen overtook her. In Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence, set at the end of the nineteenth century, one character wonders why another has not changed her "ugly" given name to something prettier, like Elaine—a statement few would make today.

Ellen has been the name of two First Ladies—Arthur and Wilson—and is Scarlett O'Hara's mother in Gone with the Wind. These days, it's most strongly associated in the US with comedian and talk show host Ellen DeGeneres.

Ellen Rank in US Top 1000

# 920 in the US

Ellen Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 572 on Nameberry

Ellen Popularity

• 920 US 2021
• 572 Nameberry 2024
• 54 Unique 2023
• 872 Future 2028
• 683 England 2021
• 86 Ireland 2019
• 288 Germany 2016
• 34 Sweden 2022
• 19 Denmark 2023
• 7 Finland 2023

20 Names Similar to Ellen

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Ellen.

• Eileen
• Carrie
• Helen
• Elaine
• Lynn
• Erin
• Mary
• Nicole
• Anne
• Maria
• Jean
• Clarissa
• Carolyn
• Dot
• Lotte
• Megan
• Nell
• Dorothea
• Ashlyn
• Margaret

Famous People Named Ellen

• (Alice) Ellen Terry English actress
• Ellen Wong Canadian actress
• Ellen Lee DeGeneres American comedian and TV host
• Ellen Burstyn (born Edna Rae Gillooly) American actress
• Ellen Kuras American cinematographer
• Ellen Cicely Wilkinson English politician
• Ellen Marie Barrett first openly lesbian priest
• Ellen Kathleen Pompeo American actress
• Ellen Rona Barkin American actress
• Ellen Anna Muth American actress
• Ellen Karolina Sofia Key Swedish feminist author
• Eleonora Maria "Ellen" van Dijk Dutch cyclist
• Ellen Gould White American founder of Seventh,Day Aventism
• Ellen Cleghorne American comedienne
• Ellen Foley American singer
• Ellen Greene American singer
• Ellen Gallagher American artist
• Ellen Louise Hopkins American novelist
• Ellen Jaffee American politician
• Ellen Jamison Kullman American CEO
• Ellen Hamilton Latzen American actress
• Ellen Barry American Pulitzer,winning journalist
• Ellen McLain American singer and voice actress
• Ellen Johnson Sirleaf president of Liberia
• Ellen Meriam Go Adarna Filipina actress
• Ellen Rose Albertini Dow American actress
• Ellen Ochoa American astronaut
• Ellen Toni White English football player
• Ellen Barrett fitness expert
• (Ellen) Tyne Daly American actress

Ellen in Pop Culture

• Ellen Rosen main character in "Number the Stars" by Lois Lowry
• Ellen Josephine Hickle character on TV's "The Adventures of Pete & Pete"
• Ellen Robillard O'Hara character in book/film "Gone with the Wind"
• Ellen Griswold character in the National Lampoon movies
• Ellen Mackenzie Fraser mother of James “Jamie” Alexander Malcolm Mackenzie Fraser in the TV series “Outlander”
• Ellen "Ellie" Degler (nee Sattler) character in "Jurassic Park" series
• "Ellen Foster " 1987 novel by Kaye Gibbons and its main character
• Ellen Louise Ripley main character in the 'Alien' franchise.
• Ellen Harvelle character on TV's "Supernatural "
• Ellen a main character in Ken Follett's "The Pillars of Earth"
• Ellen Love character on TV's "Mr. Selfridge"
• Ellen Raven character in Jenny Nimmo's "The Children of the Red King" series
• Ellen character in "Angus, Thongs and the Full Frontal Snogging" by Louise Rennison
• Ellen Kaye character in the film "Assassin's Creed"
• Ellen Carr main character in Eva Ibbotson's novel "A Song for Summer"
• Ellen "Eli" main character of film "To the Bone"
• Ellen unseen character in the Garfield comic strip by Jim Davis, Jon Arbuckle would often ask Ellen out for a date, over the phone, she was seen in
• Ellen Landry Human Female Starfleet Officer, on the hit TV series, Star Trek: Discovery, Landry was played by actress Rekha Sharma
• Ellen Hill recurring character on TV's "Madam Secretary"