NameRealm
Ellis

Ellis: name meaning, origin & popularity

Meaning
“benevolent”
Origin
Welsh
Say it
EL-iss · 2 syllables
Used for
Boys (88% of all uses)

From the Welsh form of Elias, ultimately from Hebrew Elijah. Also well known as an English surname used as a given name.

Welsh namesEnglish namesClassic namesSurname-style namesInternational names

How popular is Ellis?

2024497 per million US babies
1880192019602000
Drag the line or the slider to read any year. Values are per million US births recorded by Social Security. Records before about 1937 undercount births, so early peaks can look taller than they were.

Babies named Ellis in 20241,654

2024 rank#273 boys

Peak year2024

Total US babies since 188055,901

Ellis is rising: use over the last five years is 2.6× what it was a decade earlier.

Names like Ellis

Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.

  • Eliasmy God is Yahweh · Hebrew
  • Elliottthe Lord is my God · English
  • Dylanson of the sea · Welsh
  • Owenwell-born; young warrior · Welsh
  • Evanthe Lord is gracious · Welsh
  • Maddoxson of Madoc · Welsh
  • Griffinstrong lord · Welsh
  • Gavinwhite hawk · Welsh

Ellis questions

What does the name Ellis mean?

Ellis means "benevolent". It comes from Welsh. From the Welsh form of Elias, ultimately from Hebrew Elijah. Also well known as an English surname used as a given name.

Is Ellis a boy or girl name?

Ellis is mainly a boy's name in US records (88% of uses since 1880).

How popular is Ellis?

1,654 US babies were named Ellis in 2024. Its peak year was 2024.

How do you pronounce Ellis?

Ellis is usually pronounced EL-iss.

Birth counts: US Social Security Administration national data, 1880–2024 (names given to 5+ babies of a sex in a year). How we write meanings.