girls' name ★ peaked 2010

Ella

Gender Girl Rank 2025 #29 Trend ↓ Falling 25%

A 19th-century shortening of Eleanor or Ellen, later also used for any name ending in -ella, such as Gabriella or Daniella.

Rank 2025
#29
among girls · ↑1 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
5,831
named Ella · +2% vs 2024
How common
1 in 276
girls born in 2025
Peak year
2010
9,898 babies
All-time total
352,214
#105 all-time among girls
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Ella popularity over time

352,214 babies have been named Ella since 1880, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
3.757.511.251518801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
GirlsBoys

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s 13,936 31 13,967 1,397 – #13
1890s 17,072 46 17,118 1,712 +23% #23
1900s 14,763 78 14,841 1,484 -13% #42
1910s 24,913 89 25,002 2,500 +68% #62
1920s 29,521 163 29,684 2,968 +19% #88
1930s 19,962 159 20,121 2,012 -32% #107
1940s 15,977 103 16,080 1,608 -20% #141
1950s 11,038 28 11,066 1,107 -31% #198
1960s 5,176 19 5,195 520 -53% #352
1970s 2,096 – 2,096 210 -60% #564
1980s 1,576 – 1,576 158 -25% #859
1990s 3,897 – 3,897 390 +147% #373
2000s 67,544 100 67,644 6,764 +1636% #15
2010s 85,922 71 85,993 8,599 +27% #12
2020s (to 2025) 37,920 14 37,934 6,322 -26% #15

Where Ella is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 5,578 3.47 #34
2027 5,371 3.34 #35
2028 5,201 3.24 #38
2029 5,061 3.15 #40
2030 4,945 3.08 #40

Where Ella is most popular

Girls named Ella per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 3.77 per 1,000. Strongest in Vermont, North Dakota, and Rhode Island.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Ella born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Vermont 61 12.6 +234%
North Dakota 122 9.28 +147%
Rhode Island 116 9.26 +146%
Hawaii 104 9.07 +141%
Alaska 73 8.48 +125%
Wyoming 36 8.44 +124%
Maine 130 8.40 +123%
South Dakota 109 7.64 +103%
West Virginia 200 7.63 +103%
Delaware 81 7.14 +90%
Connecticut 411 7.06 +88%
New Hampshire 130 7.04 +87%
Kentucky 598 6.99 +86%
District of Columbia 76 6.41 +70%
Montana 86 6.35 +69%
Alabama 583 6.21 +65%
Mississippi 288 6.16 +64%
Arkansas 324 6.13 +63%
Massachusetts 737 6.10 +62%
Nebraska 208 5.79 +54%
Wisconsin 584 5.67 +51%
Louisiana 486 5.55 +47%
Tennessee 855 5.40 +43%
Idaho 178 5.32 +41%
Pennsylvania 1,245 5.27 +40%
Iowa 307 5.25 +40%
Missouri 630 5.23 +39%
Minnesota 564 5.23 +39%
Michigan 951 5.22 +39%
New Jersey 931 5.16 +37%
New York 2,001 5.05 +34%
Oklahoma 370 5.03 +34%
Ohio 1,186 5.00 +33%
Nevada 232 4.99 +33%
Kansas 283 4.91 +30%
South Carolina 428 4.76 +26%
Utah 391 4.70 +25%
North Carolina 1,062 4.66 +24%
Indiana 651 4.64 +23%
Florida 1,945 4.55 +21%
Virginia 773 4.54 +20%
Colorado 489 4.38 +16%
Illinois 1,002 4.38 +16%
Washington 625 4.33 +15%
Maryland 453 4.27 +14%
Oregon 265 4.07 +8%
Georgia 911 4.01 +7%
Arizona 552 3.93 ≈ national
New Mexico 94 3.87 ≈ national
California 3,175 3.78 ≈ national
Texas 2,456 3.05 -19%

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Ella

Ella is a top-50 name for girls in the United States, ranked #29 in 2025 with 5,831 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 352,214 American babies have been named Ella. Its peak came in 2010, when 9,898 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2010s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Ella stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Ella?

The median living Ella is about 15 years old; half are between 8 and 21. An estimated 228 thousand people named Ella are alive in the United States today.

median 15 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Ella year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 5,831 #29 – –
2024 5,715 #30 – –
2023 5,670 #32 5 #12,776
2022 6,291 #25 – –
2021 7,041 #16 9 #8,367
2020 7,372 #15 – –
2019 8,131 #13 – –
2018 8,127 #15 10 #7,763
2017 8,084 #16 6 #11,163
2016 7,940 #17 5 #12,769
2015 7,918 #18 – –
2014 8,570 #17 7 #9,949
2013 8,461 #15 9 #8,308
2012 9,210 #12 13 #6,418
2011 9,597 #12 7 #9,942
2010 9,884 #13 14 #6,138
2009 9,659 #15 12 #6,922
2008 9,364 #19 10 #7,863
2007 9,554 #21 16 #5,502
2006 9,213 #21 14 #5,869
2005 9,072 #23 12 #6,347
2004 8,252 #29 27 #3,484
2003 5,909 #44 9 #7,427
2002 3,567 #89 – –
2001 1,722 #190 – –
2000 1,232 #264 – –
1995 310 #687 – –
1990 237 #828 – –
1985 147 #1,026 – –
1980 174 #881 – –
1975 182 #776 – –
1970 323 #564 – –
1965 479 #429 6 #3,649
1960 746 #352 6 #3,777
1955 1,125 #244 5 #4,021
1950 1,379 #198 5 #3,838
1945 1,473 #158 8 #2,620
1940 1,671 #146 11 #2,222
1935 1,901 #122 21 #1,506
1930 2,404 #107 19 #1,710
1925 3,006 #93 15 #2,118
1920 3,232 #88 12 #2,499
1915 2,954 #75 8 #2,894
1910 1,587 #62 8 #1,235
1905 1,438 #52 10 #802
1900 1,911 #42 12 #754
1895 1,692 #35 – –
1890 1,758 #23 – –
1885 1,395 #19 6 #865
1880 1,156 #13 – –

Famous people named Ella

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Ella Purnell Ella Purnell British actress (born 1996) Contemporary
  2. 2 Ella Fitzgerald Ella Fitzgerald American jazz singer (1917–1996) Contemporary
  3. 3 Ella Mai Ella Mai British singer (born 1994) Contemporary
  4. 4 Ella Balinska Ella Balinska English actress (born 1996) Contemporary
  5. 5 Ella Henderson Ella Henderson British singer (born 1996) Contemporary
  6. 6 Ella Raines Ella Raines American actress (1920–1988) Contemporary
  7. 7 Ella Eyre Ella Eyre British singer/songwriter (born 1994) Contemporary
  8. 8 Ella Baker Ella Baker American civil rights activist (1903–1986) Contemporary
  9. 9 Ella Chen Ella Chen Taiwanese singer and actress b. 1981 · Contemporary
  10. 10 Ella Grasso Ella Grasso American politician (1919–1981) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Ella, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Ella?

The median living Ella is about 15 years old. Half of all living Ellas are between 8 and 21 years old.

How many people named Ella are alive today?

An estimated 228 thousand people named Ella are alive in the United States, based on 352,214 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Ella mean?

A 19th-century shortening of Eleanor or Ellen, later also used for any name ending in -ella, such as Gabriella or Daniella.

How popular is the name Ella in 2025?

Ella ranked #29 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 5,831 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Ella?

352,214 babies have been named Ella in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Ella most popular?

Ella peaked in 2010, when 9,898 newborns received the name.

Is Ella a boy or girl name?

Ella is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Ella rising or falling?

Ella is declining, less popular now than a decade ago.

Will Ella become more popular?

Ella is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 4,945 girls named Ella in 2030, which would rank around #40. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Ella?

Well-known people named Ella include Ella Purnell (actor), Ella Fitzgerald (singer), Ella Mai (singer).

Names like Ella

Names that sound and feel close to Ella: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Ella with similar names → More names starting with E →