NameCensus.

UK surname

Ellis

An English and Welsh surname derived from the given name Elijah, meaning "my God is Yahweh."

In the 1881 census there were 43,381 people recorded with the Ellis surname, ranking it #69 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 59,075, ranked #80, down from #69 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to London parishes, Manchester and Liverpool. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Conwy, Powys and Flintshire.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Ellis is 61,224 in 1999. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 36.2%.

1881 census count

43,381

Ranked #69

Modern count

59,075

2016, ranked #80

Peak year

1999

61,224 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Ellis had 43,381 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #69 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 59,075 in 2016, ranked #80.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 57,481 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Ellis surname distribution map

The map shows where the Ellis surname is concentrated in each census or modern distribution year. Darker areas mean a stronger local concentration.

Distribution map

Ellis surname density by area, 1881 census.

Loading map
Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Ellis over time

The table below tracks recorded surname counts and rank from the 19th-century census years through the modern adult-register period.

Year Period Count Rank
1851 historical 28,543 #69
1861 historical 29,653 #68
1881 historical 43,381 #69
1891 historical 47,095 #67
1901 historical 53,712 #69
1911 historical 57,481 #58
1997 modern 58,896 #72
1998 modern 60,990 #72
1999 modern 61,224 #72
2000 modern 60,877 #72
2001 modern 59,362 #72
2002 modern 60,711 #72
2003 modern 59,194 #72
2004 modern 58,992 #72
2005 modern 57,813 #73
2006 modern 57,808 #73
2007 modern 58,281 #76
2008 modern 58,482 #77
2009 modern 59,807 #78
2010 modern 60,700 #79
2011 modern 59,921 #78
2012 modern 58,661 #79
2013 modern 59,759 #79
2014 modern 60,071 #79
2015 modern 59,434 #79
2016 modern 59,075 #80

Geography

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Where Ellis' are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around London parishes, Manchester, Liverpool and Sheffield. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Conwy, Powys, Flintshire and Kirklees. Treat these as concentration signals, not proof that every family line began there.

Some modern areas include a three-digit suffix, such as Leeds 110. The suffix is a small-area code, so it stays in the table while the prose uses the plain place name.

Top historical parishes

Rank Parish Area
1 London parishes London 1
2 London parishes London 3
3 Manchester Lancashire
4 Liverpool Lancashire
5 Sheffield Yorkshire, West Riding

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Conwy 014 Conwy
2 Powys 001 Powys
3 Flintshire 017 Flintshire
4 Kirklees 018 Kirklees
5 Flintshire 013 Flintshire

Forenames

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First names often paired with Ellis

These lists show first names that appear often with the Ellis surname in historical and recent records.

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Ellis

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Ellis, this points to the kinds of places where the surname is most concentrated today.

These neighbourhood labels describe areas, not individual people. They are useful because surnames often cluster through family history, migration, housing patterns and local work. A surname can be strongest in one type of neighbourhood even when people with that name live across the country.

The UK classification gives the national picture. The London classification is more specific to the capital, where housing, age profile, tenure and population mix can look quite different from the rest of the UK.

UK neighbourhood type

UK Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities

Group

Rural Amenity

Nationally, the Ellis surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Rural Amenity, within Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities. This does not mean every Ellis household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

This Group comprises older parents or retirees, with no resident dependent children, and with the lowest residential densities in this Supergroup. Predominantly UK-born, residents typically live in detached houses, although others do live in semi-detached and terraced properties. The level of multiple car ownership is the highest in this Supergroup. Most houses are owner occupied although social renting is also present. Many concentrations occur in high amenity rural locations, such as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Wider pattern

Pervasive throughout the UK, members of this Supergroup typically own (or are buying) their detached, semi-detached or terraced homes. They are also typically educated to A Level/Highers or degree level and work in skilled or professional occupations. Typically born in the UK, some families have children, although the median adult age is above 45 and some property has become under-occupied after children have left home. This Supergroup is pervasive not only in suburban locations, but also in neighbourhoods at or beyond the edge of cities that adjoin rural parts of the country.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

The Greater London Mix

Group

Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers

Within London, Ellis is most associated with areas classed as Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers, part of The Greater London Mix. This gives the surname a London-specific profile rather than forcing the capital into the same pattern as the rest of the country.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Mainly located in Inner London, these neighbourhoods retain a diverse employment structure, with some concentration in associated professional and technical occupations rather than skilled trades or construction. Social renting is more common and levels of homeownership are low. Many residents identify as Black. There is a lower than average rate of marriage or civil partnership, few that are very old (85 or over) and higher than average incidence of disability.

Wider London pattern

A Supergroup embodying London's diversity in many respects, apart from low numbers of residents identifying as of Bangladeshi, Indian, Pakistani or Other (non-Chinese) Asian ethnicity. There is lower than average prevalence of families with dependent children, while there are above average occurrences of never-married individuals and single-person households. The age distribution is skewed towards younger, single residents and couples without children, with many individuals identifying as of mixed or multiple ethnicity. Social rented or private rented housing is slightly more prevalent than average, and many residents live in flats. Individuals typically work in professional and associated roles in public administration, education or health rather than in elementary occupations in agriculture, energy, water, construction or manufacturing. Incidence of students is slightly below average. Individuals declaring no religion are more prevalent than average and non-use of English at home is below average.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Ellis is most concentrated in decile 7 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname near the middle of the scale.

Lower deciles point towards weaker access to healthy assets or stronger exposure to local hazards. Higher deciles point towards stronger access and fewer hazards.

7
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Ellis falls in decile 7 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname near the middle of the scale.

Decile 1 represents the more deprived end of the scale. Decile 10 represents the less deprived end.

7
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Ellis is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 30-40 mbit/s.

The scale below places that band in context, from slower local download bands through to faster ones.

6
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

This describes the area pattern most associated with Ellis, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Ellis

The surname Ellis has its origins in the ancient Welsh language. It is derived from the personal name Elisse, which is itself a pet form of the name Elisedd. This name can be traced back to the 5th century and is believed to have meant "benevolent" or "kind-hearted".

Ellis is a patronymic surname, meaning it was originally formed by adding a prefix or suffix to the personal name to indicate "son of". In the case of Ellis, the suffix "is" was added to Elisse, creating the surname meaning "son of Elisse". This naming convention was common in Wales and other parts of Britain during the Middle Ages.

The earliest recorded instance of the surname Ellis dates back to the late 12th century in the Welsh county of Glamorgan. In the Pipe Rolls of 1199, there is a reference to a man named Rees Ellis, who held lands in the village of Llantrisant.

As the Ellis family spread throughout Wales and England over the centuries, various spellings of the name emerged, including Ellys, Elles, and Elys. The name was also associated with certain place names, such as Ellesmere in Shropshire, which was originally recorded as Elles Mere in the Domesday Book of 1086.

Notable individuals bearing the surname Ellis include:

1. Thomas Ellis (c. 1390-1466), a Welsh politician and Speaker of the House of Commons during the reign of Henry VI. 2. Humphrey Ellis (c. 1659-1741), a Welsh clergyman and author who wrote extensively on the history and antiquities of Wales. 3. Wynn Ellis (1790-1875), a Welsh poet and writer who was a prominent figure in the Welsh literary renaissance of the 19th century. 4. George Ellis (1753-1815), an English writer and editor who co-founded the influential literary journal The Anti-Jacobin. 5. Sarah Stickney Ellis (1799-1872), an English author and advocate for women's education and social reform.

Over time, the Ellis surname spread throughout the English-speaking world, carried by Welsh and English emigrants to various parts of Britain and its colonies. While its origins can be traced back to medieval Wales, the name Ellis has become a familiar and widespread surname across many countries and cultures.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Ellis families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Ellis surname. Use the location tables for concentration, then the name and occupation tables for the people behind the surname.

Top counties

Total is the county count. Frequency and index adjust for local population size, so they are better concentration signals. Yorkshire leads with 7,919 Ellis' recorded in 1881 and an index of 1.88x.

County Total Index
Yorkshire 7,919 1.88x
Middlesex 4,089 0.96x
Lancashire 3,663 0.73x
Surrey 2,498 1.21x
Devon 1,914 2.17x
Kent 1,442 1.00x
Essex 1,239 1.48x
Staffordshire 1,161 0.81x
Cheshire 1,121 1.20x
Denbighshire 992 6.19x
Caernarfonshire 988 5.76x
Sussex 987 1.38x
Lincolnshire 954 1.41x
Flintshire 939 8.23x
Warwickshire 919 0.86x
Norfolk 787 1.21x
Nottinghamshire 757 1.32x
Shropshire 733 2.00x
Merionethshire 714 9.20x
Cornwall 672 1.40x
Derbyshire 590 0.89x
Suffolk 532 1.03x
Glamorgan 508 0.69x
Gloucestershire 508 0.61x
Leicestershire 507 1.08x
Durham 475 0.38x
Hampshire 470 0.54x
Montgomeryshire 387 3.98x
Hertfordshire 372 1.27x
Worcestershire 355 0.64x
Cambridgeshire 319 1.19x
Dorset 267 0.96x
Lanarkshire 253 0.18x
Somerset 244 0.36x
Wiltshire 216 0.58x
Anglesey 215 2.86x
Bedfordshire 195 0.89x
Berkshire 190 0.60x
Northamptonshire 190 0.48x
Cardiganshire 184 1.78x
Aberdeenshire 183 0.47x
Monmouthshire 165 0.54x
Midlothian 163 0.29x
Northumberland 162 0.26x
Angus 148 0.38x
Buckinghamshire 134 0.52x
Huntingdonshire 102 1.21x
Oxfordshire 80 0.31x
Westmorland 76 0.82x
Perthshire 73 0.38x
Channel Islands 65 0.52x
Herefordshire 64 0.37x
Cumberland 63 0.17x
Fife 63 0.25x
Morayshire 54 0.82x
Pembrokeshire 51 0.38x
Royal Navy 45 0.89x
West Lothian 37 0.58x
Brecknockshire 33 0.39x
Banffshire 23 0.26x
Carmarthenshire 23 0.13x
Kinross-shire 22 2.05x
Renfrewshire 21 0.06x
Inverness-shire 17 0.13x
Kincardineshire 17 0.33x
Stirlingshire 15 0.10x
Clackmannanshire 14 0.40x
Dumfriesshire 14 0.15x
Nairnshire 13 1.00x
Isle of Man 12 0.15x
Roxburghshire 12 0.16x
Ayrshire 9 0.03x
Buteshire 8 0.31x
Berwickshire 7 0.14x
Rutland 7 0.22x
Dunbartonshire 5 0.04x
East Lothian 4 0.07x
Orkney 4 0.09x
Argyllshire 3 0.03x
Radnorshire 3 0.09x
Selkirkshire 3 0.08x
Wigtownshire 3 0.05x
Peeblesshire 1 0.05x
Ross-shire 1 0.01x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Leeds in Yorkshire leads with 451 Ellis' recorded in 1881 and an index of 1.90x.

Place Total Index
Leeds 451 1.90x
Islington London 444 1.08x
Birmingham 378 1.06x
Lambeth 375 1.01x
Camberwell 324 1.20x
St Pancras London 312 0.91x
Toxteth Park 303 1.78x
Liverpool 296 0.97x
Sheffield 269 2.01x
Aston 260 0.88x
West Ham 259 1.40x
Ecclesall Bierlow 238 2.78x
Everton 238 1.48x
Stoke Upon Trent 228 1.50x
Kensington London 223 0.95x
Manchester 220 0.97x
Battersea 213 1.36x
Mile End Old Town London 203 2.25x
Mirfield 198 8.58x
Birkenhead 195 2.61x
Newington 194 1.24x
St Marylebone London 193 0.85x
Hackney London 191 0.80x
Plymouth St Andrew 187 2.75x
West Derby 183 1.24x
Batley 178 4.46x
Nottingham St Mary 178 1.20x
Ruabon 177 8.03x
Hunslet 175 2.67x
Dewsbury 174 4.04x
Brighton 165 1.14x
Bethnal Green London 163 0.88x
Portsea 162 0.95x
Huddersfield 160 2.61x
Brightside Bierlow 154 1.87x
Shoreditch London 153 0.83x
St Just In Penwith 150 16.10x
Festiniog 145 8.85x
Ossett Cum Gawthorpe 144 9.59x
Stoke Damerel 135 2.18x
North Bierley 132 5.82x
Chelsea London 129 1.01x
Paddington London 127 0.81x
Croydon 126 1.10x
Nether Hallam 125 2.20x
Leicester St Margaret 124 1.08x
Holy Trinity 122 1.21x
Llanbeblig 120 6.89x
Tonbridge 118 2.26x
Great Grimsby 115 2.67x
Tranmere 115 3.34x
Chorlton On Medlock 114 1.43x
Salford 114 0.77x
Bermondsey 112 0.89x
Rhuddlan 110 10.96x
Bromley London 108 1.16x
Bowling 107 2.57x
Holywell 107 7.47x
Wakefield 106 3.28x
St George Hanover Square 105 1.40x
Ashton Under Lyne 104 0.95x
Bangor 102 6.17x
Lewisham 101 1.31x
Plymouth Charles The 99 2.54x
Clerkenwell London 97 0.97x
Monks Coppenhall 97 2.75x
Poplar London 97 1.21x
Holbeck 96 3.45x
Liversedge 96 5.13x
Bradford 94 0.92x
Horton In Bradford 92 1.40x
Maidstone 92 2.13x
Kirkdale 90 1.06x
Tottenham 89 1.32x
Madron Penzance 88 5.04x
Hammersmith London 87 0.83x
Oldham 86 0.53x
Accrington 84 1.84x
Woolwich 84 1.57x
Hulme 82 0.78x
Plumstead 80 1.66x
Almondbury 79 3.89x
Handsworth 79 7.11x
Llanddeiniolen 78 7.78x

Top female names

These are the female first names most often recorded with the Ellis surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
Mary 3,021
Elizabeth 1,753
Sarah 1,519
Jane 941
Ann 899
Annie 628
Emma 617
Eliza 604
Ellen 597
Margaret 480
Hannah 467
Emily 463
Alice 398
Martha 371
Louisa 322
Harriet 313
Maria 295
Catherine 271
Florence 258
Edith 243
Anne 242
Ada 234
Fanny 220
Caroline 211
Charlotte 210
Kate 189
Frances 166
Lucy 165
Clara 163
Susan 143
Agnes 137
Harriett 135
Rebecca 117
Amelia 109
Rose 109
Sophia 93
Eleanor 92
Susannah 91
Amy 85
Elizth. 85
Minnie 85
Grace 82
Julia 82
Esther 80
Matilda 80
Gertrude 77
Laura 74
Lydia 74
Jessie 71
Isabella 68

Top male names

These are the male first names most often recorded with the Ellis surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
William 2,540
John 2,513
George 1,442
Thomas 1,369
James 1,074
Charles 803
Henry 791
Joseph 763
Robert 655
Edward 561
Richard 435
Alfred 408
Arthur 400
Samuel 358
Frederick 325
Walter 298
David 264
Albert 262
Harry 224
Edwin 186
Herbert 178
Frank 156
Ernest 134
Francis 122
Fred 115
Benjamin 113
Wm. 105
Evan 104
Tom 84
Thos. 82
Hugh 78
Owen 72
Ellis 69
Isaac 65
Griffith 58
Peter 57
Edmund 56
Lewis 53
Stephen 48
Abraham 47
Daniel 47
Matthew 40
Fredrick 37
Robt. 37
Willie 37
Fredk. 35
Alexander 34
Philip 34
Chas. 33
Percy 33

Top occupations

Occupational titles are kept as recorded and later transcribed, so related jobs, spelling variants and mistakes stay separate. Scholar was the census term for a child in education. That means the other rows often tell you more about adult work in Ellis households.

FAQ

Ellis surname: questions and answers

How common was the Ellis surname in 1881?

In 1881, 43,381 people were recorded with the Ellis surname. That placed it at #69 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Ellis surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 59,075 in 2016. That gives Ellis a modern rank of #80.

What does the Ellis surname mean?

An English and Welsh surname derived from the given name Elijah, meaning "my God is Yahweh."

What does the Ellis map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Ellis bearers relative to the surrounding population.

What records is this surname page based on?

The historical counts come from census surname records. The modern counts and neighbourhood summaries come from later surname distribution records. Counts are recorded bearers in those records, not a live estimate of everyone with the name today.