Ellen
A feminine name derived from the Greek word for 'sun ray'.
Name Census estimates that about 134,575 living Americans carry the first name Ellen. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Ellen today is around 61 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ellen births was 1951 (5,956 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ellen. 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
- • Although Ellen is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 745 boys registered with the name since 1880.
- • Compared to the 1950s, recent registration numbers for Ellen have dropped to less than 5% of what they once were.
People living today
135K
~ 1 in 2,547 Americans
Peak year
1951
5,956 babies that year
Average age
61
years old
1993 SSA rank
#1,028
Tracked since 1880
Gender
Gender distribution for Ellen
Out of the 275,793 babies given the name Ellen since 1880, 99.7% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Ellen as a male name
- Ranked #7,935 in 1993
- 6 male births in 1993
- Peak: 1941 (22 births)
Ellen as a female name
- Ranked #1,028 in 2024
- 244 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1951 (5,945 births)
Popularity
Ellen: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ellen from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 55,505 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ellen 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 Ellen during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ellens live
The SSA's state-level files cover 51 states and territories. New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois recorded the most babies named Ellen, while Nevada, Alaska, Wyoming recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 4,935 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Ellen
The name Ellen is derived from the Greek word "Helene" which means "bright one" or "shining light". It originated in ancient Greece and was a popular name among the Greeks and Romans. The name was also associated with the Greek goddess of beauty and love, Aphrodite.
Ellen is a variation of the more common name Helen, which was popularized in the Middle Ages due to its association with St. Helen, the mother of Emperor Constantine the Great. St. Helen was a devout Christian who is believed to have discovered the True Cross in Jerusalem in the 4th century AD.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Ellen can be found in the Old English epic poem "Beowulf", which dates back to around the 8th century AD. In the poem, there is a character named Aelfwine, which is an Old English name that could be considered a precursor to Ellen.
Throughout history, there have been several notable women named Ellen. Ellen Wilkinson (1891-1947) was a British Labour politician and one of the first women to be elected to the House of Commons. Ellen Terry (1847-1928) was a renowned English stage actress who was considered one of the greatest actresses of the late 19th century.
Ellen Troutman Zahourek (1826-1905) was a Norwegian-American musician and composer who is credited with helping to establish the Norwegian-American community in the United States. Ellen Key (1849-1926) was a Swedish writer and feminist who advocated for women's rights and education reform.
Ellen MacArthur (born 1976) is a British sailor who broke the world record for the fastest solo circumnavigation of the globe in 2005. She is also known for her efforts in promoting sustainable practices and circular economy principles.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Ellen
People
Ellen + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ellen 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
Ellen: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ellen?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 134,575 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ellen 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 2,547 US residents.
Is Ellen a common name?
We classify Ellen as "Common". It ranks above 99.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 275,793 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ellen most popular?
The single biggest year for Ellen was 1951, when 5,956 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ellen is about 61 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Ellen a female name?
Yes, 99.7% of people registered as Ellen 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.
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.