Girls' name · since 1880
Ellen
275,284 babies named Ellen in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1951. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #143 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #1,062 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 275,284
- born since 1880
- 1950s
- peak decade
Yes -- Ellen is the #1062 most popular girls' name in the U.S. today, with 275,284 recorded since 1880.
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Ellen has been recorded 275,284 times among girls since 1880, currently ranked #1062 nationally and more common than 94% of girls, with its heaviest use in the 1950s. This profile covers year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution, all derived directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.
- #143 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #1,062 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 275,284 born since 1880
- 1950s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Ellen ranks #143 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #1,062 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 275,284 born since 1880, peaking in the 1950s.
- #143 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #1,062 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 275,284
- born since 1880
- 1950s
- peak decade
Ellen's 275,284 recorded births place it above 99.8% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
51 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by New York.
How Ellen compares
275,284 Top 1% higher than 99% of 17,297 names currently given to girls
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked girls names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Ellen's all-time total is 732x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Ellen | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 275,284 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 5,945 | 21 | 19,840 |
Ellen's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Ellen's full recorded timeline at 1953, 42% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 58% in the earlier half -- a fairly even split across the full record. Its quietest year on record was 2025, with just 230 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 1951 peak of 5,945 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Ellen popularity over time - girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025
- Peak year (1951)
- 5,945
- Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
Ellen popularity over time - boys
745 total births recorded since 1884 (Ellen as boys' name)
Ellen by decade
1950s is the heaviest window (55,392 births, 20% of the file).
1950s was Ellen's strongest decade.
55,392 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 20% of all-time use.
Ellen births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 5,402
1880s
5,402 births
- 1890s 7,435
1890s
7,435 births
- 1900s 8,339
1900s
8,339 births
- 1910s 21,500
1910s
21,500 births
- 1920s
1920s
28,391 births
- 1930s
1930s
25,139 births
- 1940s
1940s
45,404 births
- 1950s
1950s
55,392 births
- 1960s
1960s
34,146 births
- 1970s 11,422
1970s
11,422 births
- 1980s 10,241
1980s
10,241 births
- 1990s 11,346
1990s
11,346 births
- 2000s 5,545
2000s
5,545 births
- 2010s 3,987
2010s
3,987 births
- 2020s 1,595
2020s
1,595 births
What this shows Peak: 1950s at 55,392 births (20% of all-time use).
How Ellen compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 girls names closest to Ellen's total volume
Ellen by state
Where Ellen concentrates geographically, total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | New York | | 36,344 | 13.2% |
| #2 | Pennsylvania | | 17,665 | 6.4% |
| #3 | Illinois | | 13,936 | 5.1% |
| #4 | Massachusetts | | 13,283 | 4.8% |
| #5 | California | | 13,117 | 4.8% |
| #6 | Ohio | | 12,339 | 4.5% |
| #7 | New Jersey | | 10,391 | 3.8% |
| #8 | Michigan | | 9,969 | 3.6% |
36,344 of 275,284 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.
Ellen appears in 51 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Ellen? ▼
Where does Ellen sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Ellen most popular? ▼
Where is Ellen most popular? ▼
How long has the name Ellen been used? ▼
What names are similar to Ellen? ▼
What to do with Ellen's data
- Ellen's decade-level peak was the 1950s (55,392 total births); usage has since declined to 1,595 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- New York records the most Ellens (36,344 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. New York names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Ellen
Nearby Names Like Ellen
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Ellen
Compare Ellen side by side: Ellen vs Ella Ellen vs Ellie Ellen vs Elliana
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Ellen
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Ellen: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1951)
Similar record span (~145 yrs)
Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.
Data Sources
Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1880–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Ellen draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.