Ellajean
A feminine name combining "Ella", of English origin meaning "all, completely", and "Jean", of French origin meaning "God is gracious".
Name Census estimates that about 26 living Americans carry the first name Ellajean. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Ellajean today is around 13 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ellajean births was 2019 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ellajean. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Ellajean. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
26
~ 1 in 13,182,859 Americans
Peak year
2019
8 babies that year
Average age
13
years old
2019 SSA rank
#11,662
Tracked since 1921
Popularity
Ellajean: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ellajean from the 1920s through to the 2010s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 13 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ellajean by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Ellajean during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Ellajean
The name Ellajean is a relatively modern combination of two separate given names - Ella and Jean. It does not have a single origin or ancient cultural history.
Ella is a feminine name with origins that can be traced back to several languages and cultures. In English, it is considered a shortened form of Eleanor, which derives from the Occitan word "alia" meaning "other." The name Eleanor itself comes from the Provençal phrase "Alia Ainor" meaning "the other Aenor." Aenor was a Germanic name formed by combining the elements "eno" meaning "one" or "entire" and "rid" meaning "counsel" or "judgment."
Jean, on the other hand, is a French variant of the Hebrew name Yohanan, meaning "Yahweh is gracious." It was popular in medieval France and later spread throughout Europe and other parts of the world. The name Jean has been used for both men and women over the centuries.
While the individual names Ella and Jean have long histories and numerous historical figures associated with them, the combined name Ellajean does not appear to have any significant historical references or notable bearers from earlier eras.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Ellajean was Ellajean Giller, an American writer and educator born in 1919. She authored several books, including "The Imperative of Freedom: A Philosophy of Journalistic Autonomy" and "The Ethics of Poetry."
Another early bearer of the name was Ellajean Pearson (1918-2007), an American educator and civil rights activist who worked to desegregate schools in North Carolina.
Ellajean Trimmer Jenks (1905-1997) was an American librarian and author who wrote several books on library science and cataloging.
Ellajean Markee (1896-1986) was an American vaudeville performer and actress who appeared in several Broadway productions in the early 20th century.
Ellajean Culp (1915-2003) was an American businesswoman and philanthropist who co-founded the Culp Inc. textile company in North Carolina.
While these are some of the earliest and notable individuals with the name Ellajean, it is a relatively uncommon name, and its use as a combined given name is a more recent phenomenon.
People
Ellajean + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ellajean as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with E
Other first names starting with E with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Ellajean: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ellajean?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 26 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ellajean going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 13,182,859 US residents.
Is Ellajean a common name?
We classify Ellajean as "Very Rare". It ranks above 44.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 31 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ellajean most popular?
The single biggest year for Ellajean was 2019, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ellajean is about 13 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Ellajean in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ellajean a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ellajean in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Ellajean still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ellajean in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Ellajean can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are named Ellajean?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.