Short form of Eleanor, Ella or Elizabeth — bright, shining one. Independent as a given name in Britain and America from the 1990s.
Ellie ranks 24th among American girls in 2025, with 6,176 born that year. Its best year was 2024, when 6,322 babies were given the name, ranking 21st. The typical living American called Ellie is about 9 years old today. It is relatively most common in Vermont, where it accounts for 0.69% of births.
Source: US Social Security Administration, national and state name files, 2025 release, and the Office for National Statistics for England and Wales. Etymology researched and written by our editors. Living-population and median-age figures are our own estimates, described in the methodology.