first name
ELLEN
of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census
Of the 173,112 people named Ellen, 88.4% reported their origin as White, 4% as Black and 3.7% as Asian or Pacific Islander. Virtually all are female (99.8%). These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.
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Ellen peaked in 1951, when 5,956 babies got the name.
At least 276,029 babies have been given the name since 1880. Years SSA withheld, because fewer than 5 were born, are skipped rather than drawn as zero. * 2025 is the newest year published and it undercounts: a card application is filed some time after a birth.
Ellen by decade
Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 1880s, when it ranked #95. The largest share of babies named Ellen, 35.9%, were born during the baby boom (1946–1964).
Rank counts both sexes together, among every name SSA recorded that decade; the number under it is births. The 2020s run only to 2025. Generation years follow Pew Research Center, which has not named a generation after 2012.
Where Ellen is most common
Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Ellen has been most common in Massachusetts (2.1×), District of Columbia (1.9×), and New York (1.9×), and least common in Nevada (0.14×).
251,873 births recorded by state, 1910–2025. 2× means twice as common as nationally. States with fewer than 30 such births are left blank, and SSA withholds any year with fewer than 5 in a state, so small states read low.
Either side of Ellen
Spelled almost the same
8 first names in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Ellen, most common first.
Also a last name
As a last name, Ellen ranks #22,931 of 156,621, with 1,147 people. See Ellen as a last name
Compare
🔎 ELLEN 🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ 1 in 1,745 Americans Rarer than 50.3% of us Peaked in 1951 with 5,956 babies Beat that 👇 https://howrareismy.name/first/ellen/