Unisex name ★ peaked 2025

Ellis

Gender Unisex · 13% girls Rank 2025 #243 Trend ↑ Rising 33%

A surname from Welsh [in turn originating as a patronymic] and A male given name from Welsh, an anglicization of Elisedd.

Rank 2025
#243
among boys · ↑30 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
1,832
named Ellis · +11% vs 2024
How common
1 in 1,205
boys born in 2025
Peak year
2025
1,832 babies
All-time total
57,731
#510 all-time among boys
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Ellis popularity over time

57,731 babies have been named Ellis 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
0.250.50.75118801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
BoysGirls

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 20 728 748 75 – #159
1890s 35 886 921 92 +23% #155
1900s 44 1,100 1,144 114 +24% #158
1910s 132 4,433 4,565 457 +299% #174
1920s 177 6,125 6,302 630 +38% #203
1930s 129 4,482 4,611 461 -27% #242
1940s 124 4,617 4,741 474 +3% #268
1950s 106 3,970 4,076 408 -14% #319
1960s 62 2,596 2,658 266 -35% #421
1970s 29 1,664 1,693 169 -36% #573
1980s 72 1,514 1,586 159 -6% #661
1990s 287 1,796 2,083 208 +31% #741
2000s 755 2,355 3,110 311 +49% #721
2010s 2,767 7,098 9,865 987 +217% #311
2020s (to 2025) 2,589 7,039 9,628 1,605 +63% #243

Where Ellis is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 boys (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 boys Implied rank
2026 1,484 0.87 #237
2027 1,543 0.90 #230
2028 1,595 0.93 #224
2029 1,641 0.96 #217
2030 1,681 0.98 #207

Where Ellis is most popular

Boys named Ellis per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.698 per 1,000. Strongest in Vermont, Maine, and District of Columbia.

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

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are boys named Ellis 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 Boys 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Vermont 15 2.39 +242%
Maine 43 2.22 +217%
District of Columbia 28 1.90 +172%
Iowa 118 1.71 +145%
Oregon 118 1.55 +123%
Rhode Island 24 1.47 +111%
Montana 25 1.42 +103%
Kansas 93 1.36 +94%
Colorado 171 1.32 +90%
Alabama 142 1.30 +86%
Arkansas 80 1.26 +81%
Louisiana 129 1.26 +81%
Alaska 15 1.26 +80%
North Dakota 21 1.23 +76%
Kentucky 122 1.22 +74%
South Carolina 125 1.21 +73%
Minnesota 146 1.19 +70%
Washington 192 1.17 +68%
Tennessee 211 1.17 +67%
Utah 111 1.16 +67%
Wisconsin 136 1.15 +64%
Michigan 225 1.10 +57%
Indiana 176 1.10 +57%
New Hampshire 24 1.08 +55%
South Dakota 20 1.07 +54%
Missouri 146 1.05 +51%
Mississippi 59 1.04 +49%
Nebraska 45 1.03 +48%
North Carolina 251 0.983 +41%
Ohio 249 0.940 +35%
Virginia 174 0.917 +31%
Oklahoma 80 0.904 +30%
Georgia 228 0.900 +29%
Connecticut 55 0.812 +16%
Pennsylvania 205 0.772 +11%
Idaho 30 0.733 +5%
West Virginia 23 0.704 ≈ national
Illinois 174 0.681 ≈ national
Massachusetts 92 0.669 ≈ national
Maryland 75 0.629 -10%
New York 260 0.600 -14%
Arizona 94 0.575 -18%
Texas 473 0.537 -23%
Florida 219 0.463 -34%
California 398 0.435 -38%
Hawaii 6 0.386 -45%
Nevada 20 0.351 -50%
New Jersey 69 0.343 -51%
Delaware – – –
New Mexico – – –
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 Ellis

Ellis is moderately common for boys in the United States, ranked #243 in 2025 with 1,417 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 57,731 American babies have been named Ellis, about 87% boys and 13% girls, making it a genuinely unisex name. Its peak came in 2025, when 1,832 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2020s.

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 Ellis stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Ellis?

The median living Ellis is about 13 years old; half are between 5 and 52. An estimated 36 thousand people named Ellis are alive in the United States today.

median 13 020406080100

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

Ellis 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 415 #682 1,417 #243
2024 404 #697 1,250 #273
2023 375 #752 1,230 #275
2022 422 #699 1,094 #307
2021 501 #597 1,038 #320
2020 472 #618 1,010 #326
2019 398 #717 976 #343
2018 352 #775 1,063 #318
2017 380 #743 1,109 #311
2016 337 #844 999 #347
2015 282 #963 740 #422
2014 238 #1,076 680 #443
2013 227 #1,087 501 #531
2012 216 #1,140 403 #611
2011 186 #1,276 313 #726
2010 151 #1,491 314 #729
2009 124 #1,762 328 #721
2008 110 #1,919 276 #795
2007 111 #1,879 262 #815
2006 100 #1,993 267 #777
2005 85 #2,169 246 #790
2004 47 #3,232 212 #839
2003 54 #2,849 211 #830
2002 40 #3,412 177 #911
2001 50 #2,888 167 #928
2000 34 #3,757 209 #787
1995 38 #3,039 166 #835
1990 13 #6,582 181 #757
1985 8 #7,781 148 #726
1980 – – 172 #661
1975 – – 137 #709
1970 5 #8,350 186 #594
1965 7 #5,445 230 #502
1960 14 #3,403 358 #421
1955 5 #6,105 371 #375
1950 22 #2,070 461 #319
1945 12 #2,639 417 #292
1940 9 #3,030 430 #270
1935 9 #2,993 438 #257
1930 11 #2,740 523 #242
1925 19 #2,055 613 #220
1920 14 #2,499 646 #204
1915 21 #1,639 618 #182
1910 – – 147 #185
1905 – – 103 #181
1900 – – 120 #173
1895 – – 100 #156
1890 – – 71 #190
1885 – – 78 #169
1880 – – 58 #210

Famous people named Ellis

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

  1. 1 Ellis Marsalis Jr. Ellis Marsalis Jr. American jazz pianist and educator (1934–2020) Contemporary
  2. 2 Ellis Clarke Ellis Clarke Last Governor-General and first President of Trinidad and Tobago 1917–2010 · Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Ellis?

The median living Ellis is about 13 years old. Half of all living Elliss are between 5 and 52 years old.

How many people named Ellis are alive today?

An estimated 36 thousand people named Ellis are alive in the United States, based on 57,731 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Ellis mean?

A surname from Welsh [in turn originating as a patronymic] and A male given name from Welsh, an anglicization of Elisedd.

How popular is the name Ellis in 2025?

Ellis ranked #243 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 1,417 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Ellis?

57,731 babies have been named Ellis in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Ellis most popular?

Ellis peaked in 2025, when 1,832 newborns received the name.

Is Ellis a boy or girl name?

Ellis is used for both: about 13% of babies named Ellis have been girls and 87% boys.

Is the name Ellis rising or falling?

Ellis is on the rise, noticeably more popular now than a decade ago.

Will Ellis become more popular?

Ellis is trending upward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 1,681 boys named Ellis in 2030, which would rank around #207. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Ellis?

Well-known people named Ellis include Ellis Marsalis Jr. (musician), Ellis Clarke (politician).

Names like Ellis

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

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