Ellen
2025 SSA
Below 5 births
About Ellen
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 is also given to boys.
Pronounced EL-en.
As of October 2026, Ellen ranked #1062 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #58 in 1946, Nameberry popularity #739.
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank · girls | Births · girls | US rank · boys | Births · boys |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #656 | 435 | — | 0 |
| 2015 | #701 | 406 | — | 0 |
| 2016 | #653 | 450 | — | 0 |
| 2017 | #735 | 385 | — | 0 |
| 2018 | #765 | 356 | — | 0 |
| 2019 | #797 | 347 | — | 0 |
| 2020 | #809 | 336 | — | 0 |
| 2021 | #920 | 289 | — | 0 |
| 2022 | #1,016 | 255 | — | 0 |
| 2023 | #1,051 | 239 | — | 0 |
| 2024 | #1,028 | 244 | — | 0 |
| 2025 | #1,062 | 230 | — | 0 |
World rankings
Similar names
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Ellen on lists
Famous Ellens
- (Alice) Ellen TerryGirl
English actress
- Ellen WongGirl
Canadian actress
- Ellen Lee DeGeneresGirl
American comedian and TV host
- Ellen Burstyn (born Edna Rae Gillooly)Girl
American actress
- Ellen KurasGirl
American cinematographer
- Ellen Cicely WilkinsonGirl
English politician
- Ellen Marie BarrettGirl
first openly lesbian priest
- Ellen Kathleen PompeoGirl
American actress
- Ellen Rona BarkinGirl
American actress
- Ellen Anna MuthGirl
American actress
- Ellen Karolina Sofia KeyGirl
Swedish feminist author
- Eleonora Maria "Ellen" van DijkGirl
Dutch cyclist
- Ellen Gould WhiteGirl
American founder of Seventh,Day Aventism
- Ellen CleghorneGirl
American comedienne
- Ellen FoleyGirl
American singer
- Ellen GreeneGirl
American singer
- Ellen GallagherGirl
American artist
- Ellen Louise HopkinsGirl
American novelist
- Ellen JaffeeGirl
American politician
- Ellen Jamison KullmanGirl
American CEO
- Ellen Hamilton LatzenGirl
American actress
- Ellen BarryGirl
American Pulitzer,winning journalist
- Ellen McLainGirl
American singer and voice actress
- Ellen Johnson SirleafGirl
president of Liberia
- Ellen Meriam Go AdarnaGirl
Filipina actress
- Ellen Rose Albertini DowGirl
American actress
- Ellen OchoaGirl
American astronaut
- Ellen Toni WhiteGirl
English football player
- Ellen BarrettGirl
fitness expert
- (Ellen) Tyne DalyGirl
American actress
Ellen in pop culture
- Ellen RosenGirl
main character in "Number the Stars" by Lois Lowry
- Ellen Josephine HickleGirl
character on TV's "The Adventures of Pete & Pete"
- Ellen Robillard O'HaraGirl
character in book/film "Gone with the Wind"
- Ellen GriswoldGirl
character in the National Lampoon movies
- Ellen Mackenzie FraserGirl
mother of James “Jamie” Alexander Malcolm Mackenzie Fraser in the TV series “Outlander”
- Ellen "Ellie" Degler (nee Sattler)Girl
character in "Jurassic Park" series
- "Ellen FosterGirl
" 1987 novel by Kaye Gibbons and its main character
- Ellen Louise RipleyGirl
main character in the 'Alien' franchise.
- Ellen HarvelleGirl
character on TV's "Supernatural "
- EllenGirl
a main character in Ken Follett's "The Pillars of Earth"
- Ellen LoveGirl
character on TV's "Mr. Selfridge"
- Ellen RavenGirl
character in Jenny Nimmo's "The Children of the Red King" series
- EllenGirl
character in "Angus, Thongs and the Full Frontal Snogging" by Louise Rennison
- Ellen KayeGirl
character in the film "Assassin's Creed"
- Ellen CarrGirl
main character in Eva Ibbotson's novel "A Song for Summer"
- Ellen "Eli"Girl
main character of film "To the Bone"
- EllenGirl
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 LandryGirl
Human Female Starfleet Officer, on the hit TV series, Star Trek: Discovery, Landry was played by actress Rekha Sharma
- Ellen HillGirl
recurring character on TV's "Madam Secretary"
- "Burd Ellen and Young Tamlane"Girl
A ballad in the 19th century collection "The Child Ballads"
- "Ellen Irwin, or the Braes of Kirtle"Girl
A ballad in William Wordsworth's collection of poems, "Lyrical Ballads"