Ellise
A feminine name derived from the Hebrew name Elisheba, meaning "God is my oath".
Name Census estimates that about 738 living Americans carry the first name Ellise. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Ellise today is around 21 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ellise births was 2004 (37 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ellise. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Ellise with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
738
~ 1 in 464,437 Americans
Peak year
2004
37 babies that year
Average age
21
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,567
Tracked since 1918
Census
Ellise in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 777 people with the first name Ellise, which placed it at #14,953 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#14,953
National first-name rank
People counted
777
777 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
61.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ellise
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ellise is White at 61.1%. The next largest groups are Black (14.4%) and Hispanic (11.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Ellise described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Ellise at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White61.1% · 475
- Black or African American14.4% · 112
- Hispanic or Latino11.6% · 90
- Asian and Pacific Islander6.8% · 53
- Two or more races5.3% · 41
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 6
Popularity
Ellise: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ellise from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 263 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ellise 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 Ellise during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ellises live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. Texas, Florida, California recorded the most babies named Ellise, while Ohio, California, Florida recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 7 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Ellise
The name Ellise has its origins in the Greek language and culture, tracing back to ancient times. It is a feminine form derived from the Greek name Helios, which means "sun." The name is also closely related to the Greek word "eleutheria," meaning "freedom" or "liberty."
In ancient Greek mythology, Helios was the personification of the sun, and was one of the most important deities in the pantheon. The sun played a crucial role in the daily lives and beliefs of the ancient Greeks, and names associated with it were often seen as auspicious and powerful.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Ellise can be found in the works of the ancient Greek poet Hesiod, who lived around the 8th century BCE. In his epic poem "Theogony," Hesiod mentions a character named Elise, who was a nymph associated with the sun and its rays.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Ellise. One of the earliest was Ellise of Antioch (c. 274 - c. 342 CE), a Christian martyr and saint who was executed for her faith during the reign of the Roman Emperor Diocletian. Her story is recorded in the "Acts of the Martyrs" and she is celebrated in the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches.
Another notable Ellise was Ellise de Vergy (c. 1182 - c. 1208), a French noblewoman who was the subject of a famous medieval romance ballad. The story tells of her tragic love affair with a knight, and her eventual death from heartbreak.
In the 16th century, Ellise de Masiers (c. 1520 - c. 1590) was a French poet and writer who gained recognition for her works in both French and Latin. Her poetry often explored themes of love, nature, and the human experience.
Moving into the modern era, Ellise Richer (1930 - 2022) was a Canadian actress and playwright who made significant contributions to the theatre scene in Quebec. She was known for her powerful performances and for addressing social and political issues through her works.
Finally, Ellise Donaldson (1905 - 1976) was an American author and journalist who wrote several popular children's books in the mid-20th century, including the "Miriam Mason" series and "The Pumpkin Coach."
While the name Ellise has its roots in ancient Greek culture, it has been adopted and adapted by various civilizations throughout history, gaining new meanings and associations along the way. The name continues to be popular in many parts of the world, reflecting its enduring beauty and connection to the celestial body that sustains life on Earth.
People
Ellise + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ellise 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
Ellise: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ellise?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 738 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ellise 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 464,437 US residents.
Is Ellise a common name?
We classify Ellise as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 766 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ellise most popular?
The single biggest year for Ellise was 2004, when 37 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ellise is about 21 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Ellise in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 777 people with the name Ellise, or 0.26 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #14,953 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Ellise in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Ellise?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ellise leans strongly female. 763 people counted with this name were female (98.3%), compared with 13 male bearers (1.7%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Ellise?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ellise is White at 61.1%. The next largest groups are Black (14.4%) and Hispanic (11.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Ellise most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Ellise in the 2020 Census, accounting for 61.1% (475 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Ellise in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ellise a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ellise 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 Ellise still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ellise 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 Ellise 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.
How many people share the name Ellise?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.