Girls' name · since 1898

Ellyn

3,836 babies named Ellyn in U.S. Social Security records since 1898, with the highest year being 1991. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.

#3,070 of 72,339
all-time among girls
#11,989 of 17,297
2025 SSA year
3,836
born since 1898
1950s
peak decade

3,836 babies have been named Ellyn since 1898, making it today's #11989 girls' name.

Ellyn has 3,836 recorded births among girls since 1898, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #11989 as of the latest data, more common than 31% of girls, busiest in the 1950s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1898 to 2025.

  • #3,070 of 72,339 all-time among girls
  • #11,989 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
  • 3,836 born since 1898
  • 1950s peak decade

Data updated Aug 2026

The verdict

According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Ellyn ranks #3,070 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #11,989 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 3,836 born since 1898, peaking in the 1950s.

#3,070 of 72,339
all-time among girls
#11,989 of 17,297
2025 SSA year
3,836
born since 1898
1950s
peak decade
0%100%Median name50%30.6%
Ellyn vs. every other girls name in current SSA rankings
Upper archive tier
All-time archive position

Ellyn's 3,836 recorded births place it above 95.75% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.

12 jurisdictions
State-record footprint

12 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by Illinois.

How Ellyn compares

3,836 Top 16% higher than 84% 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

Ellyn's all-time total is 10x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.

Metric Ellyn Median girls name (Kyann) #1 girls name (Olivia)
All-time total births 3,836 376 567,345
Peak-year births 102 21 19,840

Ellyn's usage pattern, beyond the headline number

Divide Ellyn's SSA record in two at 1968 and the more recent half accounts for 46% of all births, the earlier half the remaining 54%, a genuinely balanced usage pattern. Its calmest year was 1908, with only 5 births recorded -- set against the 1991 peak of 102, that's the full swing in one name's fortunes.

Ellyn popularity over time

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1898–2025

Outside the top 1,000
Peak year (1991)
102
Annual births at peak, across 128 years of records
050100150 189819261941195619711986200120162025 7

Ellyn by decade

1950s is the heaviest window (744 births, 19% of the file).

1950s was Ellyn's strongest decade.

744 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 19% of all-time use.

Ellyn births by decade

Total births in each ten-year window

births

What this shows Peak: 1950s at 744 births (19% of all-time use).

Source U.S. Social Security Administration · Baby Names As of August 2026

How Ellyn 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 Ellyn's total volume

Ellyn vs 15 similarly-sized girls names Scatter plot of 16 data points. 0%5%10%15%20% 050100150200 New & already peakedOld name, single-era peakNew & still diversifyingLong history, steady all along Years in SSA records % of total births in the single peak year -127, 2.5%-71, 5.3%-35, 5.8%-45, 7.6%-55, 5.5%-146, 2.2%-54, 4.3%-24, 17%-62, 6.5%-50, 7.1%-26, 7.3%-55, 10%-111, 7.7%-58, 5.1%-42, 5.1%Ellyn-128, 2.7%Ellyn
Ellyn vs 15 similarly-sized girls names

Ellyn by state

Where Ellyn concentrates geographically, total births since 1898

Geographically diffuse
Top 8 states by recorded births for the name Ellyn
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 Illinois
403 10.5%
#2 New York
393 10.2%
#3 California
114 3.0%
#4 Wisconsin
100 2.6%
#5 Pennsylvania
88 2.3%
#6 New Jersey
53 1.4%
#7 Ohio
46 1.2%
#8 Massachusetts
42 1.1%
Illinois share of Ellyn's total US births 10.5%
Even split

403 of 3,836 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 12 reporting states.

Ellyn appears in 12 states. Explore state details →

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Ellyn?
Ellyn has been given to 3,836 babies in the U.S. since 1898, according to SSA data. Its archive ordinal is #3,070 of 72,339 among girls' names (total births, highest first). Among girls in 2025, it is #11,989 of 17,297. 102 babies were born in 1991, its single highest year.
Where does Ellyn sit in the SSA name archive?
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Ellyn ranks #3,070 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #11,989 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. All-time ordinal matches browse popularity (total births DESC); the current ordinal uses the 2025 SSA file. See /methodology#corpus-placement.
When was Ellyn most popular?
Ellyn was most popular in the 1950s decade with 744 total births. The single peak year was 1991.
Where is Ellyn most popular?
The top states for the name Ellyn are Illinois (403 births), New York (393 births), California (114 births).
How long has the name Ellyn been used?
Records for Ellyn go back to 1898, giving 128 years of history through 2025.
What names are similar to Ellyn?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Ella, Ellen, Ellie, Elliana, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for girls.

What to do with Ellyn's data

  • Ellyn's decade-level peak was the 1950s (744 total births); usage has since declined to 56 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
  • Illinois records the most Ellyns (403 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. Illinois names

Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.

Keep exploring Ellyn

Nearby Names Like Ellyn

Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Ellyn

Names with a similar popularity rank to Ellyn

Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span

Two nationwide peer axes for Ellyn: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.

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, 1898–2025 (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 Ellyn 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.