ninan.org

Ellen

Girls' name · Mid-century perennial

Living in the US
~156,400 survival-weighted estimate
2025 rank
#1,062 among girls
Births in 2025
230 276,029 since 1880
Typical age
66 years, median

Ellen popularity over time

Ellen rank by birth year, 1880–2025Ellen ranked #61 in 1880 and #1,062 in 2025. Its best rank in the period was #58, in 1946.#100#1,000#1,062best #58 in 194618901920195019802010
Rank among US baby names by birth year, 1880–2025. Lower is more popular; the scale is logarithmic so the top of the chart is not compressed.

More children were named Ellen in 1951 than in any other year — 5,956 of them. It appears in the very first year SSA covers, 1880. Ellen has spent 77 years inside the national top 100.

As of 2025 the name sits at #1,062, with 230 births that year. Compared with 2015, births are down 43%. It slipped 37 places against the previous year.

Babies named Ellen per yearPeaks at 5,956 births in 1951.5,956 in 1951018901920195019802010
Recorded US births by year. The peak is labelled; the axis starts at zero.

How many people are named Ellen?

Roughly 156,400 Ellens are alive in the US right now. That is out of 276,029 recorded births since 1880.

This is a survival-weighted estimate, not a headcount: every recorded birth year is multiplied by the chance someone born that year is still alive, using the SSA period life table. How the estimate works.

How old is the average Ellen?

Half of living Ellens are older than 66, half younger. The 1950s produced the largest surviving cohort. By the site’s era rules that makes Ellen a mid-century perennial name.

Your Ellen

Ages of living people named EllenHalf of living Ellens are older than 66 and half younger.median 66020406080100
Estimated living bearers by age today. Each bar is a birth year, weighted by the chance someone born then is still alive.

Where Ellen is most common

Relative to births, Massachusetts carries 1.8× the national share of Ellens. Tennessee, Missouri and Minnesota follow.

Where Ellen is used more than average5 states use the name Ellen more than the national average.Alaska: not over-representedAKMaine: not over-representedMEVermont: not over-representedVTNew Hampshire: not over-representedNHWashington: not over-representedWAIdaho: not over-representedIDMontana: not over-representedMTNorth Dakota: not over-representedNDMinnesota: 1.6× the national rateMNIllinois: not over-representedILWisconsin: not over-representedWIMichigan: not over-representedMINew York: not over-representedNYOregon: not over-representedORNevada: not over-representedNVWyoming: not over-representedWYSouth Dakota: not over-representedSDIowa: not over-representedIAIndiana: not over-representedINOhio: not over-representedOHPennsylvania: not over-representedPANew Jersey: not over-representedNJConnecticut: not over-representedCTRhode Island: not over-representedRICalifornia: not over-representedCAUtah: 1.6× the national rateUTColorado: not over-representedCONebraska: not over-representedNEMissouri: 1.6× the national rateMOKentucky: not over-representedKYWest Virginia: not over-representedWVVirginia: not over-representedVAMaryland: not over-representedMDDelaware: not over-representedDEMassachusetts: 1.8× the national rateMAArizona: not over-representedAZNew Mexico: not over-representedNMKansas: not over-representedKSArkansas: not over-representedARTennessee: 1.6× the national rateTNNorth Carolina: not over-representedNCSouth Carolina: not over-representedSCDistrict of Columbia: not over-representedDCOklahoma: not over-representedOKLouisiana: not over-representedLAMississippi: not over-representedMSAlabama: not over-representedALGeorgia: not over-representedGAHawaii: not over-representedHITexas: not over-representedTXFlorida: not over-representedFL
Same as national3× or more
Location quotient, 2016–2025. Shaded states use the name more than the country does, relative to their own births. Exact figures are in the table below.
States where Ellen is over-represented, 2016–2025. The location quotient compares the state's share of the name with the national share.
StateBirthsvs national rate
Massachusetts 84 1.8×
Tennessee 98 1.6×
Missouri 78 1.6×
Minnesota 69 1.6×
Utah 52 1.6×

Ellen in England and Wales

In England and Wales, Ellen ranked #1,028 in 2025 on 33 births. That is 60% lower than five years earlier.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Counts below three are suppressed by ONS.

Where the name Ellen comes from

Medieval English variant of Helen, from Ancient Greek Ἑλένη; also used as a variant of Eleanor or a feminine counterpart to Elliot.

Etymology summarised from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0. Wiktionary entry.

Notable people named Ellen

Ordered by how many Wikipedia language editions have an article about them — a measure of reach, not of importance.
NameKnown forYearsEditions
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf 24th president of Liberia 1938 128
Ellen DeGeneres American comedian, television host, actress, and writer 1958 92
Ellen Burstyn American actress 1932 71
Ellen G. White American author, co-founder of the Seventh-day Adventist Church 1827–1915 55
Ellen Pompeo American actress 1969 53
Ellen Barkin American actress 1954 52
Ellen Key Swedish writer 1849–1926 46
Ellen Terry English actress 1847–1928 42
Photo credits (7)

People and dates from Wikidata (CC0), limited to those with an English Wikipedia article who are known by this name as their first name.

Names similar to Ellen

Matched by sound and spelling inside this dataset, then ordered by total recorded births. This is not a claim about shared etymology.

Related pages

Get this data

Every number on this page is available as JSON: /api/name/ellen.json. Free to use with attribution (CC BY 4.0).