Girl name · Old French
Ellie
Name meaning, origin and popularity
: pet form of Eleanor, Ellen, Elizabeth and other El- namesEllie is a girl's name that is of Old French origin: pet form of Eleanor, Ellen, Elizabeth and other El- names. It is used in English.
- Meaning
- Pet form of Eleanor, Ellen, Elizabeth and other El- names
- Origin
- Old French
- Gender
- Girl
- US rank
- #24 in 2025
Meaning and origin of Ellie
As a girl's name, Ellie is of Old French origin: pet form of Eleanor, Ellen, Elizabeth and other El- names. It is used in English.
Meaning checked against Behind the Name. How we research names
Ellie on Nomezo lists
What our editors wrote about Ellie on 3 lists.
“Friendly, warm and easy to say”
From Nicknames for ChatGPT, human-sounding names for an AI assistant
“Short, sweet and endlessly friendly”
From Female cat names, classic girl cat names
“Bright and bouncy, a short form of Eleanor”
From Girl dog names, popular girl dog names
How popular is Ellie?
- US rank in 2025
- #24
- 6,176 babies, 3,843 per million girls
- Best rank
- #21 in 2024
- 6,317 babies that year
- Babies since 1880
- At least 105,677
- Years with under 5 are not listed
| 1880s | 233 per million |
|---|---|
| 1890s | 204 per million |
| 1900s | 182 per million |
| 1910s | 96 per million |
| 1920s | 64 per million |
| 1930s | 41 per million |
| 1940s | 27 per million |
| 1950s | 28 per million |
| 1960s | 32 per million |
| 1970s | 37 per million |
| 1980s | 45 per million |
| 1990s | 198 per million |
| 2000s | 921 per million |
| 2010s | 2,471 per million |
| 2020s | 3,672 per million |
| Year | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #43 | #44 | #36 | #35 | #29 | #30 | #33 | #27 | #21 | #24 |
Source: US Social Security Administration baby-name data, 1880 to 2025, as published in 2026. Each spelling is counted separately, a name given to fewer than 5 babies of one sex in a year is left out, and few people born before 1937 have records, which is why the chart shows babies per million rather than raw counts.
Names spelled like Ellie
One or two letters apart, but from a different root: they look alike without sharing a meaning.
- EllisMy God is Yahweh (Hebrew, unisex)
- ElsieGod is my oath (Hebrew, girl)
- EliseGod is my oath (Hebrew, girl)
- EffieWell spoken (Greek, girl)
- EllaShort form of names such as Elisabeth and Eleonore (Germanic, girl)
- ElskeGod is my oath (Hebrew, girl)
- EilísGod is my oath (Hebrew, girl)
- ElainA fawn (Welsh, girl)
- ElçinEnvoy, messenger (Turkish, unisex)
Names with a similar meaning
- AlinaShort form of Adelina, Albina and names ending in -alina (Germanic, girl)
- LilianaLatinate form of Lillian, probably from Elizabeth or Lily (English, girl)
- MilanGracious, dear; a short form of Slavic Mil- names (Slavic, unisex)
- ElianVariant of names beginning with Eli, such as Elijah (Hebrew, boy)
- MiraPeace, from Slavic Mir- names; in Sanskrit, sea (Slavic, girl)
- AntonellaPet form of Antonia, from the Roman family name Antonius (Latin, girl)
- GiaPet form of Gianna, God is gracious (Hebrew, girl)
- KaiaPet form of Katarina, the Scandinavian Katherine (Greek, girl)
- MiaPet form of Maria (Hebrew, girl)
- NorahVariant of Nora, short form of Honora or Eleanor (Latin, girl)
Middle names for Ellie
Picked from our middle-name lists with a different first letter and a longer length, so the full name flows.
More girl names from Old French
- BellamyBeautiful friend (Old French, unisex)
- BlancheWhite, fair (Old French, girl)
- EsméEsteemed, loved (Old French, girl)
- AmyBeloved (Old French, girl)
- BaileySteward, bailiff (Old French, unisex)
- DouceSweet (Old French, girl)
- EleanorReportedly from Latin alia Aenor, the other Aenor (Old French, girl)
- EsmeeEsteemed, loved (Old French, girl)
- MalloryUnlucky, unfortunate (Old French, unisex)
- PaigeYoung servant, page (Old French, girl)
Ellie: common questions
What does the name Ellie mean?
Ellie is of Old French origin: pet form of Eleanor, Ellen, Elizabeth and other El- names. Checked against Behind the Name.
Is Ellie a boy or girl name?
Ellie is mainly a girl's name.
Where does the name Ellie come from?
Ellie is of Old French origin: pet form of Eleanor, Ellen, Elizabeth and other El- names. Today it is used in English.
How popular is the name Ellie?
Ellie ranked #24 in the US in 2025, with 6,176 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.
What names are similar to Ellie?
Names spelled like Ellie include Ellis, Elsie, Elise, Effie and Ella.
What middle names go with Ellie?
Middle names that flow well with Ellie include Aurora, Harmony, Honor, Louisa and Madeline. A different first letter and a contrasting length usually sound best.