UK name, mostly boys
Ellis
A first name for boys derived from the surname Ellis, which originated as an English form of the Greek name Elias.
For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 2024. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.
Ellis is mostly registered for boys in the UK records. People looking for Ellis popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #95, with 571 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2006, with 876 births.
This profile covers 19,358 England and Wales registrations across 29 recorded years from 1996 to 2024. The figures come from ONS England and Wales, NRS Scotland and NISRA Northern Ireland, so the page is a view of published baby-name registrations rather than a forecast or a live count of people using the name today.
The latest count is about 65% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.
We estimate that about 20,433 living people in the UK are called Ellis. This uses published birth registrations from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, then applies ONS national life tables to estimate how many are likely still alive. It does not forecast extra births for 2025 or 2026.
Key insights
- • Ellis ranked #95 for boys in England and Wales in 2024, with 571 registrations.
- • The name peaked in 2006, when 876 boys were registered as Ellis.
- • Ellis ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #104 in 2024.
- • About 20,433 living people in the UK are estimated to have Ellis as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.
- • Across the England and Wales records shown here, 92.8% of Ellis registrations are for boys.
Latest rank (E&W)
#95
2024
Births in 2024
571
Latest year
Peak year
2006
876 births
Estimated living
20,433
2026
Gender
Boy and girl registrations for Ellis
In England and Wales birth records, Ellis has been registered for both boys and girls. Across the years shown here, 92.8% of registrations are for boys and 7.2% are for girls.
These figures use the sex categories in the published baby-name files. They are useful for spotting how the name is used at registration, but they are not a live measure of gender identity or everyone living with the name today.
Ellis registered for boys
- Ranked #95 in 2024
- 571 boys registered in 2024
- Peak: 2006 (876 births)
Ellis registered for girls
- Ranked #1,353 in 2024
- 24 girls registered in 2024
- Peak: 1998 (160 births)
Meaning
What does Ellis mean?
The name Ellis is an English given name derived from the Old English surname Ellys, which itself originated from an Old English personal name Ęlle, meaning "foreign." The name likely came into use as a personal name in England during the Middle Ages.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Ellis is found in the Domesday Book, a survey of England commissioned in 1086 by William the Conqueror. The entry includes a landowner named Ellis from Yorkshire.
A notable historical figure with the name Ellis was Ellis de Hauvill, a 12th-century English nobleman who served as Lord Chancellor of England from 1199 to 1201. He played a key role in the negotiations surrounding the Magna Carta.
In the 16th century, Ellis Heywood (c. 1530 - 1578) was an English Protestant martyr who was burned at the stake for his religious beliefs during the Marian persecutions.
During the American Revolutionary War, Ellis Hughes (1730 - 1794) was a Welsh-born American patriot who served as a Deputy Governor of Georgia and fought in the Siege of Savannah.
In the field of literature, Ellis Parker Butler (1869 - 1937) was an American author best known for his short story "Pigs is Pigs," which became a popular humorous tale.
Another notable figure with the name Ellis was Ellis Arnall (1907 - 1992), a politician who served as the 67th Governor of Georgia from 1943 to 1947, and was later appointed as the Director of the Office of Price Stabilization by President Harry S. Truman.
Sourced from namecensus.com.
Popularity
Ellis over time
The chart below compares boys and girls registered as Ellis in England and Wales, from 1996 to 2024. Empty years are left out so rare names are not stretched across long periods where the published files do not show any registrations.
For Ellis, the clearest high point is 2006. The latest England and Wales figure is 571 births in 2024, compared with 876 at the peak.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ellis by decade
Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Ellis was a short-lived spike or a name that stayed in regular use. Average rank is calculated only from years where a published rank exists.
| Decade | Average rank | Total births | Years covered |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s | #92 | 3,060 | 5 |
| 2010s | #93 | 6,958 | 10 |
| 2000s | #86 | 7,240 | 10 |
| 1990s | #99 | 2,100 | 4 |
Geography
Where Ellis is most common
The bars show the latest published local birth counts for Ellis. They are useful for spotting where the name is showing up in real numbers, while the rank beside each bar shows how strongly it performs inside that region.
Ellis ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #104 in 2024.
Across the UK
Ellis in Scotland and Northern Ireland
Scotland (NRS)
#104 in 2024
35 years of NRS records, 1,094 total registered
Northern Ireland (NISRA)
#239 in 2024
19 years of NISRA records, 133 total registered
Related
Names similar to Ellis
- Ethan 77,394
- Edward 53,212
- Elliot 23,450
- Elijah 22,369
- Elliott 16,964
- Evan 14,535
- Ezra 11,838
- Ewan 10,685
- Eli 8,126
- Elias 7,049
- Eric 6,654
- Emmanuel 5,491
FAQ
Ellis: questions and answers
How popular is the name Ellis in the UK right now?
In 2024, Ellis was ranked #95 for boys in England and Wales, with 571 births registered.
When was Ellis most popular?
The peak year on record was 2006, with 876 babies registered as Ellis in England and Wales.
What is the meaning and origin of Ellis?
A first name for boys derived from the surname Ellis, which originated as an English form of the Greek name Elias.
How many people are called Ellis in the UK?
A total of 19,358 babies have been registered as Ellis across the 29 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here, plus 1,094 more in Scotland and 133 in Northern Ireland.
Where is Ellis most common?
In the latest published local rankings, Ellis ranks best in Scotland, where it placed #104 in 2024. The regional bars on this page use birth counts, so they also reflect the size of each region.
Which records is this page based on?
The England and Wales timeline uses ONS baby-name records. Scotland figures come from NRS and Northern Ireland figures come from NISRA. Counts are registrations in published baby-name files. The living estimate uses those birth registrations with ONS national life tables.