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Ellison

#1,067 in 2025UnisexGirls' nameBoys' name

Transferred from a surname; no fixed literal translation

Ellison has been given to 8,658 babies in the U.S. since 1914. In 2025 it ranked #1,067 of 17,293 girls’ names in use. Its peak year was 2021, with 329 recorded. It's used for both sexes: 66% girls, 34% boys all-time.

Babies named Ellison, 2025

1 in 14,500

Ellison over time, 1880–2025

GirlsBoys
010020030040018801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Girls or boys — Ellison over time

In 2025, Ellison went to 70% girls and 30% boys.

18812025

A sex is only published in years it reached five applications, so a stretch at 0% or 100% means the other side stayed under that floor — not that it was never used.

Ellison: meaning, origin, and history

Transferred from a surname; no fixed literal translation

surname transfer

What Ellison means

Ellison is a given name.

Origin, language, and formation

Ellison is used in English. Its origins include surname transfer.

Ellison is recorded as a surname transferred into given-name use.

Pronunciation and spelling

In English, Ellison is pronounced /ˈɛlɪsən/.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 5,695 girls were recorded with the name Ellison between 1914 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 329 in 2021; its best national rank was #838 in 2019.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #906 in 2020 to #1,067 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank fell, from #946 in 2015 to #1,067 in 2025.

In the United States, 2,963 boys were recorded with the name Ellison between 1881 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 101 in 2017; its best national rank was #748 in 1883.

Over 5 years its rank rose, from #1,779 in 2020 to #1,679 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank rose, from #1,695 in 2015 to #1,679 in 2025.

Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution

Meaning, origin, and language notes draw on the references below.

American popularity figures use published Social Security Administration records for this exact spelling. Counts below five for a name, sex, and year are omitted.

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

How common is Ellison?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 14,500
228 of 3,315,165 births
Among girls only
1 in 7,050
0.01% of girls
Rank, 2025
#1,067
of 17,293 girls’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
10,080 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Ellison sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Olivia (13,544)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 100Under 1%
School of 5003%

Put another way: gather 10,080 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Ellison. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Ellisons were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Ellison was born before 2015 — so the typical Ellison is around 10 today.

Median birth year
2015
About 10 years old
Biggest decade
2010s
47.2% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
92.8%
A modern name
Recorded since 1950
5,689
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

2010s — 47.2% of all recorded uses (2,687).

Is Ellison rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
±0
No change
Rank vs 5 years ago
−161
Places dropped
Rank vs 10 years ago
−121
Places dropped
Births vs 10 years ago
0.79×
Fewer babies than then
Share of its own peak
69.3%
Peak was 2021 (329)
Years since peak
4
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Shifting
12.4% average annual change
Best rank ever
#838
2019

Spellings of Ellison

Ellison is not the most common spelling — Allison is, with 61.7% against Ellison's 1.1%.

Grouped by closeness of spelling (up to two letter changes), same sex, with a floor on all-time use. It catches Sophia/Sofia and Aiden/Ayden, and misses spellings that sound alike but look different, like Sean and Shawn.

Where Ellison is used — girls

Across 2016–2025, Ellison was most concentrated in South Carolina — about 1 in 926 girls, against 1 in 5,378 across all states with data. It was least common in New Jersey (1 in 100,000).

1108 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1South Carolina1 in 926
  2. 2Tennessee1 in 1,852
  3. 3Alabama1 in 2,000
  4. 4Arkansas1 in 2,222
  5. 5Kentucky1 in 2,273
  6. 6North Carolina1 in 2,703
  7. 7Wisconsin1 in 2,857
  8. 8Georgia1 in 2,941

Shading is the share of that state's recorded girls given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings.

Geographically, Ellison is one of the more regionally concentrated names in the country — more concentrated than 94% of the names used widely enough to compare. See the most regional names

Where Ellison is used — boys

Across 2016–2025, Ellison was most concentrated in South Carolina — about 1 in 6,667 boys, against 1 in 32,905 across all states with data. It was least common in Pennsylvania (1 in 100,000).

115 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1South Carolina1 in 6,667
  2. 2North Carolina1 in 14,286
  3. 3Georgia1 in 20,000
  4. 4Kentucky1 in 20,000
  5. 5Tennessee1 in 25,000
  6. 6Texas1 in 25,000
  7. 7Alabama1 in 33,333
  8. 8California1 in 33,333

Shading is the share of that state's recorded boys given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings.

Ellison around the world

Where Ellison ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    1997–2017
    #4,763
    in 2017
  • Scotland
    2011–2011
    #674
    in 2011
  • Canada
    2004–2023
    #3,391
    in 2023
  • South Australia
    1951–2012
    #871
    in 2012

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics, National Records of Scotland, Statistics Canada and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). ONS, NRS data under Open Government Licence v3.0. StatCan data under Statistics Canada Open Licence. CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0.

Notable people named Ellison

People whose public names include Ellison, backed by Wikidata given-name records and ordered by linked Wikimedia pages. The name may be a middle name.

People data from Wikidata (CC0). Fame is measured, not judged — the order reflects how widely each person is documented, not the U.S. birth records popularity this page is otherwise about.

Ellison by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
#1,067
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 161
Best rank ever
#838
2019
Peak year
2021
329 that year
First recorded
1914
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
5,695
Count in 2025
228

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#1,679
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Up 100
Best rank ever
#748
1883
Peak year
2017
101 that year
First recorded
1881
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
2,963
Count in 2025
98

Names similar to Ellison

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

EllysonElliottElliannaEllamaeElleryElliotEllasonEllyanaAlissonGraysonEllenaEllianaEllisEllowynEllisynEllynEllietteEllanorEllenorMadysonEllinorElleighElloiseEllaina

Names with a curve like Ellison

Not spelling — timing. These names rose, peaked and faded in the same years as Ellison, so they read as being from the same moment even when they look nothing alike.

LandryKeilyRayleeAliannaKairiMayleeHarmoniLeelaMilanaMarleighElleryAustyn

Sibling names for Ellison

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Ellison

Top names of 2021, Ellison's peak yearThe 2020s in fullOther names that peaked in 2019Girls' names starting with E