2000
#121
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 181,934
First available Census row
Per 100,000 67.44
Common Last name
Ellis
An English and Welsh surname derived from the given name Elijah, meaning "my God is Yahweh."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 209,057 Americans carry the last name Ellis. That puts it at #137 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 60.99 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,640 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Ellis surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Ellis with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
209K
1 in 1,640
Census rank
#137
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
61.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
182K
common in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 182,308 bearers of the surname Ellis in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 60.99 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 137th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Ellis, the largest self-reported group is White at 67.4%. The next largest groups are Black (23.1%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Ellis
The surname Ellis has its origins in the ancient Welsh language. It is derived from the personal name Elisse, which is itself a pet form of the name Elisedd. This name can be traced back to the 5th century and is believed to have meant "benevolent" or "kind-hearted".
Ellis is a patronymic surname, meaning it was originally formed by adding a prefix or suffix to the personal name to indicate "son of". In the case of Ellis, the suffix "is" was added to Elisse, creating the surname meaning "son of Elisse". This naming convention was common in Wales and other parts of Britain during the Middle Ages.
The earliest recorded instance of the surname Ellis dates back to the late 12th century in the Welsh county of Glamorgan. In the Pipe Rolls of 1199, there is a reference to a man named Rees Ellis, who held lands in the village of Llantrisant.
As the Ellis family spread throughout Wales and England over the centuries, various spellings of the name emerged, including Ellys, Elles, and Elys. The name was also associated with certain place names, such as Ellesmere in Shropshire, which was originally recorded as Elles Mere in the Domesday Book of 1086.
Notable individuals bearing the surname Ellis include:
1. Thomas Ellis (c. 1390-1466), a Welsh politician and Speaker of the House of Commons during the reign of Henry VI.
2. Humphrey Ellis (c. 1659-1741), a Welsh clergyman and author who wrote extensively on the history and antiquities of Wales.
3. Wynn Ellis (1790-1875), a Welsh poet and writer who was a prominent figure in the Welsh literary renaissance of the 19th century.
4. George Ellis (1753-1815), an English writer and editor who co-founded the influential literary journal The Anti-Jacobin.
5. Sarah Stickney Ellis (1799-1872), an English author and advocate for women's education and social reform.
Over time, the Ellis surname spread throughout the English-speaking world, carried by Welsh and English emigrants to various parts of Britain and its colonies. While its origins can be traced back to medieval Wales, the name Ellis has become a familiar and widespread surname across many countries and cultures.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ellis
Among Census respondents with the surname Ellis, the largest self-reported group is White at 67.4%. The next largest groups are Black (23.1%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Ellis bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Ellis surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White67.4% · 122,785
- Black or African American23.1% · 42,110
- Two or more races4.5% · 8,269
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 6,887
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 1,199
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 1,058
Timeline
Historical Census data for Ellis
Ellis appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#131
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 188,968
+7,034 bearers (+3.9%)
Per 100,000 64.06
Rank movement Down 10 places
2020
#137
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 182,308
-6,660 bearers (-3.5%)
Per 100,000 60.99
Rank movement Down 6 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #121 | 181,934 | 67.44 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #131 | 188,968 | 64.06 | +7,034 bearers (+3.9%) | Down 10 places |
| 2020 | #137 | 182,308 | 60.99 | -6,660 bearers (-3.5%) | Down 6 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Ellis surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #131 | #137 | -4.6% |
| Count | 188,968 | 182,308 | -3.5% |
| Per 100K | 64.06 | 60.99 | -4.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Ellis bearers went from 188,968 to 182,308 (-3.5% change). The surname moved down 6 positions in the national ranking, going from #131 to #137.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Ellis
FAQ
Ellis surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Ellis?
Name Census estimates that about 209,057 living Americans carry the surname Ellis. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,640 residents.
How common is Ellis?
Ellis ranks #137 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Common." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 60.99 per 100,000 residents, which is about 61 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 182,308 people with the surname Ellis. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (209,057), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 60.99 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 60.99 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 61 of them to have the surname Ellis.
Has Ellis become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Ellis went from 188,968 recorded bearers to 182,308. That is a decrease of 6,660 (-3.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #131 to #137.
What does the Census say about the background of Ellis?
Among Census respondents with the surname Ellis, the largest self-reported group is White at 67.4%. The next largest groups are Black (23.1%) and Two or More Races (4.5%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Ellis in the 2020 Census, accounting for 67.4% (122,785 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Ellis appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (67.4%), Black (23.1%), Two or More Races (4.5%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Ellis (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Ellis mean?
An English and Welsh surname derived from the given name Elijah, meaning "my God is Yahweh." The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Ellis (60.99 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the last name Ellis?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans have the surname Ellis on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.