Ellison
Ellison is given to both girls and boys: 228 girls and 98 boys were given it in 2025 (#1,067 among girls’ names and #1,679 among boys’, #1,599 among all names counting both); 8,658 Americans have been recorded with it since 1881 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 7,800 Americans named Ellison and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (90% of everyone recorded); the median is 11 years old and half are between 6 and 19.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Ellison by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Ellison mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Ellison is “a female given name transferred from the surname.”
Also “a male given name transferred from the surname.”
From Ellis + -son.
/ˈɛlɪsən/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Ellison?
#1,067 among girls’ names, 2025
Ellison fell from #946 in 2015 to #1,067 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born fell from 0.16 to 0.14 per 1,000.
424 babies in 2021, the peak
Ellison peaked in 2021, when 424 babies were given it (329 girls, #839 among girls’ names). The 326 births of 2025 (girls and boys) are 77% of that peak.
Births by sex.
| Year | Girls | Girls’ rank | Boys | Boys’ rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 228 | #1,067 | 98 | #1,679 |
| 2024 | 233 | #1,067 | 73 | #2,060 |
| 2023 | 230 | #1,076 | 81 | #1,932 |
| 2022 | 239 | #1,063 | 88 | #1,831 |
| 2021 | 329 | #839 | 95 | #1,713 |
| 2020 | 290 | #906 | 85 | #1,779 |
| 2019 | 323 | #838 | 80 | #1,871 |
| 2018 | 271 | #975 | 100 | #1,628 |
| 2017 | 270 | #974 | 101 | #1,597 |
| 2016 | 298 | #921 | 95 | #1,666 |
Every recorded year (124)
| Year | Girls | Girls’ rank | Boys | Boys’ rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 287 | #946 | 92 | #1,695 |
| 2014 | 304 | #893 | 72 | #1,983 |
| 2013 | 266 | #953 | 81 | #1,784 |
| 2012 | 237 | #1,060 | 43 | #2,786 |
| 2011 | 235 | #1,051 | 31 | #3,455 |
| 2010 | 196 | #1,230 | 30 | #3,559 |
| 2009 | 146 | #1,550 | 31 | #3,502 |
| 2008 | 172 | #1,386 | 29 | #3,670 |
| 2007 | 150 | #1,530 | 22 | #4,408 |
| 2006 | 158 | #1,428 | 32 | #3,330 |
| 2005 | 117 | #1,692 | 21 | #4,235 |
| 2004 | 96 | #1,948 | 22 | #4,044 |
| 2003 | 83 | #2,105 | 19 | #4,323 |
| 2002 | 68 | #2,357 | 24 | #3,586 |
| 2001 | 58 | #2,604 | 20 | #4,008 |
| 2000 | 54 | #2,713 | 15 | #4,852 |
| 1999 | 36 | #3,456 | 15 | #4,596 |
| 1998 | 40 | #3,130 | 22 | #3,418 |
| 1997 | 32 | #3,565 | 9 | #6,239 |
| 1996 | 22 | #4,637 | 16 | #4,062 |
| 1995 | 20 | #4,889 | 11 | #5,239 |
| 1994 | 18 | #5,304 | 19 | #3,499 |
| 1993 | 12 | #7,153 | 14 | #4,294 |
| 1992 | 14 | #6,402 | 16 | #3,796 |
| 1991 | 9 | #8,802 | 17 | #3,498 |
| 1990 | 7 | #10,538 | 26 | #2,567 |
| 1989 | 15 | #5,627 | 15 | #3,671 |
| 1988 | 9 | #7,888 | 20 | #2,780 |
| 1987 | 5 | #11,847 | 22 | #2,491 |
| 1986 | 10 | #6,741 | 30 | #1,973 |
| 1985 | 5 | #11,149 | 9 | #4,429 |
| 1984 | 7 | #8,417 | 12 | #3,523 |
| 1983 | 7 | #8,292 | 7 | #5,084 |
| 1982 | 5 | #10,965 | 10 | #4,025 |
| 1981 | under 5 | 10 | #3,930 | |
| 1980 | 8 | #7,609 | 13 | #3,311 |
| 1979 | 7 | #8,286 | 5 | #6,341 |
| 1978 | 7 | #7,856 | 15 | #2,828 |
| 1977 | 8 | #7,063 | 12 | #3,262 |
| 1976 | 5 | #9,718 | 10 | #3,554 |
| 1975 | 8 | #6,680 | 14 | #2,795 |
| 1974 | under 5 | 8 | #3,939 | |
| 1973 | under 5 | 9 | #3,526 | |
| 1972 | 6 | #7,547 | under 5 | |
| 1971 | 7 | #6,798 | 14 | #2,598 |
| 1970 | 5 | #8,350 | 15 | #2,425 |
| 1969 | under 5 | 10 | #2,925 | |
| 1968 | under 5 | 18 | #1,912 | |
| 1967 | under 5 | 10 | #2,652 | |
| 1966 | under 5 | 11 | #2,520 | |
| 1965 | under 5 | 21 | #1,735 | |
| 1964 | under 5 | 17 | #1,999 | |
| 1963 | under 5 | 8 | #3,130 | |
| 1962 | 5 | #6,854 | 15 | #2,136 |
| 1961 | 7 | #5,459 | 11 | #2,589 |
| 1960 | under 5 | 11 | #2,580 | |
| 1959 | 5 | #6,526 | 15 | #2,140 |
| 1958 | under 5 | 11 | #2,552 | |
| 1957 | under 5 | 15 | #2,118 | |
| 1956 | under 5 | 15 | #2,114 | |
| 1955 | under 5 | 7 | #3,286 | |
| 1954 | under 5 | 17 | #1,912 | |
| 1953 | under 5 | 22 | #1,647 | |
| 1952 | under 5 | 12 | #2,286 | |
| 1951 | under 5 | 17 | #1,854 | |
| 1950 | under 5 | 18 | #1,759 | |
| 1949 | under 5 | 18 | #1,776 | |
| 1948 | under 5 | 17 | #1,837 | |
| 1947 | under 5 | 26 | #1,458 | |
| 1946 | under 5 | 17 | #1,779 | |
| 1945 | under 5 | 16 | #1,718 | |
| 1944 | under 5 | 13 | #2,015 | |
| 1943 | under 5 | 21 | #1,544 | |
| 1942 | under 5 | 21 | #1,552 | |
| 1941 | under 5 | 17 | #1,710 | |
| 1940 | under 5 | 21 | #1,488 | |
| 1939 | under 5 | 18 | #1,590 | |
| 1938 | under 5 | 11 | #2,229 | |
| 1937 | under 5 | 27 | #1,291 | |
| 1936 | under 5 | 17 | #1,664 | |
| 1935 | under 5 | 17 | #1,726 | |
| 1934 | under 5 | 21 | #1,523 | |
| 1933 | under 5 | 14 | #1,934 | |
| 1932 | under 5 | 16 | #1,867 | |
| 1931 | under 5 | 10 | #2,527 | |
| 1930 | under 5 | 9 | #2,836 | |
| 1929 | under 5 | 19 | #1,749 | |
| 1928 | under 5 | 12 | #2,431 | |
| 1927 | under 5 | 19 | #1,824 | |
| 1926 | under 5 | 17 | #1,928 | |
| 1925 | under 5 | 22 | #1,647 | |
| 1924 | under 5 | 23 | #1,639 | |
| 1923 | under 5 | 20 | #1,771 | |
| 1922 | under 5 | 21 | #1,711 | |
| 1921 | under 5 | 31 | #1,338 | |
| 1920 | under 5 | 32 | #1,283 | |
| 1919 | under 5 | 22 | #1,587 | |
| 1918 | under 5 | 24 | #1,505 | |
| 1917 | under 5 | 13 | #2,208 | |
| 1916 | under 5 | 25 | #1,389 | |
| 1915 | under 5 | 22 | #1,471 | |
| 1914 | 6 | #3,308 | 22 | #1,278 |
| 1913 | under 5 | 14 | #1,464 | |
| 1912 | under 5 | 10 | #1,654 | |
| 1911 | under 5 | 6 | #1,592 | |
| 1910 | under 5 | 8 | #1,235 | |
| 1909 | under 5 | 10 | #968 | |
| 1907 | under 5 | 11 | #830 | |
| 1906 | under 5 | 5 | #1,294 | |
| 1905 | under 5 | 8 | #943 | |
| 1901 | under 5 | 5 | #1,099 | |
| 1888 | under 5 | 7 | #846 | |
| 1883 | under 5 | 7 | #748 | |
| 1881 | under 5 | 5 | #906 |
Ranks: girls’ names and boys’ names ranked separately in each year’s SSA file; “under 5” is a year SSA did not list the name for that sex.
Is Ellison a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 8,658 Americans recorded as Ellison, 66% are girls and 34% boys.
Years with fewer than 20 babies given the name are left blank.
Girls and boys named Ellison: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Ellison, and how old are they?
7,800 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 90% of the 8,658 Americans ever recorded as Ellison. The median Ellison alive today is 11 years old; half are between 6 and 19.
The 2020 Census counted 5,704 people named Ellison (4,070 women and girls, 1,634 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 5,938 born in the U.S. The Census count is 4% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 61 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 200 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 220 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 403 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 2,240 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 4,680 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Ellison born?
The states with the most babies named Ellison are Texas, South Carolina and Tennessee, with 42% of its births recorded by state in 2025; South Carolina and Tennessee are not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 29 | #1,285 | 0.8× |
| South Carolina | 28 | #210 | 3.8× |
| Tennessee | 24 | #341 | 1.2× |
| North Carolina | 16 | #640 | 1.2× |
| Georgia | 16 | #654 | 1.1× |
| Alabama | 15 | #328 | 1.0× |
| California | 14 | #2,149 | 0.4× |
| Florida | 12 | #1,191 | 0.3× |
| Michigan | 9 | #807 | 0.7× |
| Wisconsin | 9 | #532 | 1.0× |
Where Ellison is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Ellison is most over-represented in South Carolina: since 1910 it was given 3.8 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Ellison with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 7 names spelled alike, given to 10,908 babies since 1880, Ellison is the most given (79% of them). In 2025 it was given to 326 of their 395 babies (83%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Ellison
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Ellison and names like it
- Compare Ellison and EllisynBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 2020sEllison peaked in 2021.
- Texas’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Ellison since 1910.
- From surnamesWiktionary’s origin for Ellison: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 2021The year the most babies were named Ellison.
- The names of Generation AlphaMost people named Ellison alive today were born 2013-2025.
- Names starting with EMost given first.