Ella stands as a popular name for girls, and the sound of her generation.Thanks to Ivy for suggesting our Baby Name of the Day.
Ella: Short for …
Ella counts more than one possible origin and meaning. But it stands alone, too, and has for ages. One possible origin? The Latin alia – other, or perhaps a Germanic word meaning whole.
But it could be a nickname, too, derived from nearly any name with an el- sound at the beginning or the end. The formal name associated suggests the possible meanings.
Ella: Fairytale
Perhaps the most famous nickname story comes courtesy of Cinderella. Sing along with me: loving father dies, wicked stepmother puts kind-hearted daughter to work as a servant for her and the wicked stepsisters.
The recent live action Disney movie made it clear. Our heroine grew up as plain and lovely Ella. The Cinder- prefix was attached by her cruel and callous step-family, though she later embraced the full name. And married the prince and lived happily ever after …
Gail Carson Levine added a different kind of fairytale twist with her Newberry Medal of Honor-winning 1997 novel Ella Enchanted. Played by Anne Hathaway in the 2004 movie, it came just as the name was set to soar.
Ella: Jazz
The name feels nicely retro and musical, too. Credit goes to jazz legend Ella Fitzgerald. With a career stretching from the 1930s into the 1990s, her renditions of jazz standards netted her 13 Grammy Awards, the National Medal of Arts, and a Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Ella: Clooney
A string of celebrity parents have embraced the name. There was John Travolta in 2000, Ben Stiller in 2003, and Mark Wahlberg later the same year.
But the 2017 headlines belong to the Clooneys, George and Amal, who welcomed twins in June: a boy called Alexander, and a girl with this sweet, simple, and jazzy name.
Ella: By the Numbers
Reasons abound for the name’s revival. Beyond the celebrities and the pop culture ties, let’s add a few more:
- Some of the name’s resurgence is due to the 100 Year Rule. A Top 100 pick from the nineteenth century into the 1920s, Ella was prime for revival by the early 2000s.
- The widespread popularity of Emma also pushed parents to consider similar names as an alternative.
- Dozens of names with the -el sound, like Gabrielle and Isabella, were catching on at the same time.
By 2000, the name ranked #265. It reached #89 in 2002, and peaked at #11 in 2011-2012. Today the name stands at #17, slightly off its peak, but still powerfully popular.
It’s in heavy use throughout the English-speaking world and elsewhere in Europe, too.
Ella: What’s Next?
Five of the current Top 100 names contain this sound, not counting so many El- names, from Elizabeth to Ellie to Elena. In many ways, it exemplifies the sound of girls’ names in the early twenty-first century.
That’s the only drawback to this sweet, simple, and stylish name. Not only is it powerfully popular, but it sounds like half a dozen other chart-toppers, too.
And yet, it remains a stylish choice, associated with fairytale heroines, a jazz legend, and now one of the most famous celebrity babies born in 2017. No wonder parents continue to consider the lovely Ella the perfect name for a child.
Would you consider this name for a daughter? Or does the name’s popularity give you pause?
Originally published on July 7, 2011, this post was revised and re-posted on December 4, 2017 as part of Celebrity Baby Names Week.
I don’t care for Ella as a stand alone name or as a nickname. It’s just to soft and fluid for me. The only name similar to Ella that I like is Stella.
I have to say that the first time I noticed the Ell trend was when my Dad made me watch Legally Blonde. The main character’s name is Elle, and I feel like I starting noticing all of the El-babies after that. The other association I have with Ella is the sweet children’s book Ella Minnow Pea.
My cousin loves the name Ella but since “ela” is a command in Greek she couldn’t use it. Ella sounds like a cliched name at this point, but I think it’s a better choice than Elle (which sounds more like an initial than a name). Ella is a nice nickname for other -ella names, though.
I completely agree with what Nicole said, and I don’t even speak Spanish 🙂
Ella is also really overexposed. I prefer the spare Elle.
It seems like every other girl I meet now is named Ella. I kid you not, every time I go out, where ever I am, there is at least one little girl named Ella running around.
Ella is pretty, but it feels rather flimsy as a full name. Another drawback is that the lines from this clapping game keep running through my head: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stella_Ella_Ola . I always thought the rhyme was rather stupid.
I am rather a hypocrite because I’m another person who is tired of Ella as a first name but I like it as a nickname…in fact, it IS my nickname! (Although I have spelt it Elea since I was a child) For some reason I don’t quite connect full-name-Ella with nickname-Ella. I guess because I am also Eleanor, Elle and Nen.
However, as a positive, Ela of Salisibury (one L, not a typo) is a pretty remarkable independantly minded namesake from the 13th century. She seems to have been named after her paternal grandmother Ela, who is also recorded as Adela. Her mother was called Eleanor to further confuse things.
I much prefer it as a nickname, but I feel like it’s one of those nicknames that can stand pretty well on its own– like Mia or Greta. I think it has a lovely sound and feel, but it is getting a bit overused around here. I like it as a nickname for Elisabeth or Eloise, personally.
Ella is a family name on both sides of the family, so I don’t mind it, but it I rather use it as a nickname for something longer… like Elodie or Elinor.
This is one name trend I cannot get behind. I am of latin decent and in spanish Ella means she or her.. so its like naming your daughter Girl. Not very attractive, although it is pronounced differently in english than spanish, seeing the name in print just brings up thoughts of mean parents just not coming up with a name. In fact its such a strong reaction that one of my co-workers named his daughter this recently (like 2 months ago) and when he handed out the baby announcements I literally made a sour face in front of him on accident… i tried to play it off like I had just gotten a cramp, luckily he believed me. While a lot of people dont live in communities where spanish is prevalent and this name would be perfectly fine there, but he is from southern california and she is from texas.. so i am pretty sure this notion will come up later in life when she has latin playmates and co-workers. Hmm it is interesting that it is so high on the SS charts.. i would like to see a distribution of the name to see if it is less prevalent in spanish speaking communities, or if I am the only one that has this aversion haha
I also wonder how Ella will age considering Spanish is becoming more and more prevalant in the U.S. I can imagine the little girls named just Ella might grow up in a world where more and more people think of ella as the word her and wonder what their parents were thinking.
Nicole, I hadn’t thought about that, but of course – big potential issue.
Yeah, another here with Ella fatigue. I can’t look at it without thinking of the Spanish word for “she” and “her”, and, strangely enough, elephants. I do like it loads better than Boston. 😉
Ella is perfectly pretty, but so rampant already that it’s lost it’s appeal for me. We have an Ellie behind us (little sister to Dylan), we have an Ella three doors up the street. So the sound, in general is already In the neighborhood. blend in Maddie & Abby and my little Josie really starts to stand out in the crowd!
But Ella’s very pretty and I can easily see why she appeals to parents, with her long history and cute sound but please, no more in my neighborhood.
I think Ella wears out a little more quickly than Olivia or even Isabella. I like her fine, but I feel like I’ve heard her again and again and again – probably because some of those Olivias become Livvy or Liv, and some of the Isabellas are Issy and Belle … but Ella always stays Ella.
It’s very cute, but I’m possibly getting jaded from its heavy use.
Funnily enough, the first Ella I met was an elderly lady, so even though people often say this name “won’t age well”, I can testify it’s perfectly fine on an older person. It quite loses its “cuteness” on an older person and seems rather dignified.
I love Ella as a nn but couldn’t see it as a full name. I do like some of the names it is short for tho…too bad the fiance is insistent on using Cinder for a boy. Heh.