Ellen

Where Ellen comes from

Medieval English variant of Helen, from Ancient Greek Ἑλένη (Helénē); also used as a variant of Eleanor or a feminine counterpart to Elliot.
— Wiktionary's entry for Ellen
  • Ancient Greek
  • 2 syllables
Ellen through the years
  1. 1880
    First SSA year
    Already #61 among girls, with 411 babies in the first year on record.
  2. 1938
    Ellen Johnson Sirleaf born
    24th president of Liberia
  3. 1946
    Peak, #58
    5,237 babies named Ellen, its best rank.
  4. 1958
    Ellen DeGeneres born
    American comedian, television host, actress, and writer
  5. 1967
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births, down to #138.
In the dictionary
  • A female given name from Ancient Greek.
Namesakes
  • Ellen Johnson Sirleaf · 24th president of Liberia, born 1938
  • Ellen DeGeneres · American comedian, television host, actress, and writer, born 1958
  • Ellen Burstyn · American actress, born 1932
  • Ellen G. White · American author, co-founder of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, 1827–1915
  • Ellen Pompeo · American actress, born 1969

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.