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BabyNames
Girl name#164 of girl names

Ellen

Pronounced EH1 L AH0 N (ARPABET)

  • 2 syllables
  • Peaked 1951
  • 145 years in use
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How popular is Ellen?

Ellen is a girls' name, and has been in the record since the data starts in 1880. It has been given to 277,778 children — the 164th most common girls' name on record.

It has been slipping, down 25% on the previous decade. Its best single year was 1951, when 5,968 children were given it.

02,5005,0007,50010,00018901920195019802010
1951Girls: 5,968Boys: 11

Characteristics

  • 2 syllables
Phonetic detail
Pronunciations:
EH1 L AH0 N
Stress pattern:
10
Syllables:
2

Stress digits mark unstressed (0), primary (1) and secondary (2) syllables.

Names like Ellen

Same first letter and syllable count, peaking around the same time.

Sibling names for Ellen

Names from the same era with a matching rhythm but a different initial.

Frequently asked questions

How popular is the name Ellen?
Ellen ranks 164th among girls' names in US records, with 277,778 births since 1880. Over the past decade it accounts for 3,450.
Is Ellen a unisex name?
No. Ellen is recorded almost entirely as a girls' name; births to the other gender are too few to register as a share.
When was Ellen most popular?
1951, when 5,968 children were given the name. It has been in use for 145 years and is still recorded as of 2024.