girls' name ★ peaked 2019

Elle

Gender Girl Rank 2025 #461 Trend ↓ Falling 18%

A diminutive of the female given name Eleanor and other names beginning with El.

Rank 2025
#461
among girls · ↑18 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
668
named Elle · +4% vs 2024
How common
1 in 2,406
girls born in 2025
Peak year
2019
890 babies
All-time total
19,247
#1,095 all-time among girls
First recorded
1977
in Social Security records

Elle popularity over time

19,247 babies have been named Elle since 1977, 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
0.190.380.560.7518801900192019401960198020002020Peak 2019Girls

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 Per year Change Best rank
1880s – – – –
1890s – – – –
1900s – – – –
1910s – – – –
1920s – – – –
1930s – – – –
1940s – – – –
1950s – – – –
1960s – – – –
1970s 13 1 – #7,133
1980s 193 19 +1385% #1,498
1990s 1,251 125 +548% #1,153
2000s 5,164 516 +313% #444
2010s 8,105 811 +57% #355
2020s (to 2025) 4,521 754 -7% #357

Where Elle 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 648 0.40 #474
2027 631 0.39 #482
2028 617 0.38 #487
2029 605 0.38 #490
2030 595 0.37 #499

Where Elle is most popular

Girls named Elle per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.453 per 1,000. Strongest in District of Columbia, Hawaii, and Louisiana.

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 Elle 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
District of Columbia 20 1.69 +272%
Hawaii 14 1.22 +169%
Louisiana 80 0.914 +102%
Utah 75 0.901 +99%
Massachusetts 105 0.868 +92%
Connecticut 50 0.859 +90%
Nevada 31 0.667 +47%
New Jersey 120 0.665 +47%
New York 259 0.654 +44%
Arkansas 33 0.624 +38%
Kansas 36 0.624 +38%
Missouri 75 0.622 +37%
Pennsylvania 147 0.622 +37%
Illinois 142 0.620 +37%
Wisconsin 63 0.612 +35%
Minnesota 66 0.612 +35%
Florida 260 0.608 +34%
California 503 0.598 +32%
Washington 86 0.595 +31%
Arizona 81 0.577 +27%
Colorado 58 0.520 +15%
Ohio 120 0.506 +12%
Oklahoma 37 0.503 +11%
Maryland 51 0.481 +6%
North Carolina 103 0.452 ≈ national
Michigan 82 0.450 ≈ national
Georgia 101 0.445 ≈ national
Kentucky 38 0.444 ≈ national
Texas 331 0.412 -9%
Indiana 57 0.406 -10%
Rhode Island 5 0.399 -12%
Tennessee 61 0.385 -15%
Mississippi 18 0.385 -15%
West Virginia 10 0.382 -16%
North Dakota 5 0.380 -16%
South Carolina 34 0.378 -17%
Alabama 32 0.341 -25%
Virginia 58 0.340 -25%
Iowa 17 0.291 -36%
New Hampshire 5 0.271 -40%
Oregon 17 0.261 -42%
Idaho 5 0.149 -67%
Nebraska 5 0.139 -69%
Alaska – – –
Delaware – – –
Maine – – –
Montana – – –
New Mexico – – –
South Dakota – – –
Vermont – – –
Wyoming – – –

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 Elle

Elle is moderately common for girls in the United States, ranked #461 in 2025 with 668 babies given the name. It is currently holding steady compared with a decade ago.

Since 1977, 19,247 American babies have been named Elle. Its peak came in 2019, when 890 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 Elle stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Elle?

The median living Elle is about 12 years old; half are between 6 and 18. An estimated 19 thousand people named Elle are alive in the United States today.

median 12 020406080100

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

Elle year by year

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

Year Girls Girls rank
2025 668 #461
2024 644 #479
2023 702 #441
2022 795 #394
2021 870 #357
2020 842 #370
2019 890 #355
2018 817 #382
2017 833 #375
2016 834 #399
2015 819 #397
2014 825 #396
2013 749 #408
2012 822 #383
2011 766 #414
2010 750 #420
2009 709 #444
2008 642 #492
2007 677 #475
2006 653 #481
2005 594 #505
2004 596 #494
2003 497 #556
2002 418 #612
2001 197 #1,079
2000 181 #1,130
1995 130 #1,287
1990 91 #1,637
1985 7 #8,607
1980 – –
1975 – –
1970 – –
1965 – –
1960 – –
1955 – –
1950 – –
1945 – –
1940 – –
1935 – –
1930 – –
1925 – –
1920 – –
1915 – –
1910 – –
1905 – –
1900 – –
1895 – –
1890 – –
1885 – –
1880 – –

Famous people named Elle

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

  1. 1 Elle Fanning Elle Fanning American actress (born 1998) Contemporary
  2. 2 Elle King Elle King American musician (born 1989) Contemporary
  3. 3 Elle Macpherson Elle Macpherson Australian model and actress (born 1964) Contemporary
  4. 4 Elle Logan American rower (born 1987) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Elle?

The median living Elle is about 12 years old. Half of all living Elles are between 6 and 18 years old.

How many people named Elle are alive today?

An estimated 19 thousand people named Elle are alive in the United States, based on 19,247 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Elle mean?

A diminutive of the female given name Eleanor and other names beginning with El.

How popular is the name Elle in 2025?

Elle ranked #461 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 668 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Elle?

19,247 babies have been named Elle in the United States since 1977, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Elle most popular?

Elle peaked in 2019, when 890 newborns received the name.

Is Elle a boy or girl name?

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

Is the name Elle rising or falling?

Elle has been roughly stable over the past decade.

Will Elle become more popular?

Elle is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 595 girls named Elle in 2030, which would rank around #499. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Elle?

Well-known people named Elle include Elle Fanning (actor), Elle King (actor), Elle Macpherson (model).

Names like Elle

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

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