Ely
Ely is given to both girls and boys: 16 girls and 49 boys were given it in 2025 (#6,923 among girls’ names and #2,653 among boys’, #4,699 among all names counting both); 5,087 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 4,340 Americans named Ely and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (85% of everyone recorded); the median is 19 years old and half are between 12 and 29.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Ely by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Ely mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Ely is “a male given name.”
Inherited from Middle English Ely, from Old English Ēlīġ, of uncertain origin.
/iːli/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Ely?
#2,653 among boys’ names, 2025
Ely fell from #1,516 in 2015 to #2,653 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born fell from 56.9 to 28.7 per million.
175 babies in 2009, the peak
Ely peaked in 2009, when 175 babies were given it (159 boys, #1,149 among boys’ names). The 65 births of 2025 (girls and boys) are 37% of that peak.
Births by sex.
| Year | Girls | Girls’ rank | Boys | Boys’ rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 16 | #6,923 | 49 | #2,653 |
| 2024 | 29 | #4,694 | 40 | #3,063 |
| 2023 | 28 | #4,785 | 46 | #2,776 |
| 2022 | 30 | #4,616 | 39 | #3,113 |
| 2021 | 23 | #5,450 | 48 | #2,662 |
| 2020 | 16 | #7,013 | 48 | #2,630 |
| 2019 | 27 | #4,947 | 71 | #2,050 |
| 2018 | 26 | #5,051 | 75 | #1,963 |
| 2017 | 28 | #4,844 | 73 | #1,961 |
| 2016 | 15 | #7,710 | 105 | #1,567 |
Every recorded year (131)
| Year | Girls | Girls’ rank | Boys | Boys’ rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 26 | #5,172 | 109 | #1,516 |
| 2014 | 25 | #5,355 | 104 | #1,540 |
| 2013 | 19 | #6,543 | 123 | #1,373 |
| 2012 | 23 | #5,759 | 132 | #1,305 |
| 2011 | 18 | #6,937 | 150 | #1,181 |
| 2010 | 21 | #6,244 | 137 | #1,271 |
| 2009 | 16 | #7,786 | 159 | #1,149 |
| 2008 | 17 | #7,510 | 153 | #1,171 |
| 2007 | 18 | #7,170 | 146 | #1,208 |
| 2006 | 18 | #6,944 | 142 | #1,188 |
| 2005 | 13 | #8,479 | 152 | #1,084 |
| 2004 | 17 | #6,875 | 143 | #1,103 |
| 2003 | 7 | #12,815 | 94 | #1,410 |
| 2002 | 15 | #7,160 | 88 | #1,447 |
| 2001 | 14 | #7,432 | 85 | #1,450 |
| 2000 | 8 | #11,036 | 92 | #1,370 |
| 1999 | 13 | #7,358 | 62 | #1,696 |
| 1998 | 12 | #7,690 | 50 | #1,937 |
| 1997 | 6 | #12,570 | 58 | #1,695 |
| 1996 | under 5 | 43 | #2,023 | |
| 1995 | 6 | #12,235 | 43 | #1,956 |
| 1994 | 7 | #10,909 | 33 | #2,357 |
| 1993 | 6 | #12,242 | 49 | #1,744 |
| 1992 | 6 | #12,220 | 47 | #1,781 |
| 1991 | 8 | #9,584 | 57 | #1,524 |
| 1990 | 11 | #7,463 | 42 | #1,843 |
| 1989 | 7 | #10,004 | 42 | #1,804 |
| 1988 | under 5 | 33 | #1,955 | |
| 1987 | under 5 | 29 | #2,073 | |
| 1986 | 5 | #11,467 | 34 | #1,803 |
| 1985 | under 5 | 33 | #1,807 | |
| 1984 | under 5 | 36 | #1,638 | |
| 1983 | under 5 | 38 | #1,569 | |
| 1982 | under 5 | 33 | #1,743 | |
| 1981 | under 5 | 39 | #1,556 | |
| 1980 | under 5 | 35 | #1,664 | |
| 1979 | 6 | #9,326 | 28 | #1,917 |
| 1978 | under 5 | 34 | #1,625 | |
| 1977 | 5 | #10,065 | 26 | #1,919 |
| 1976 | under 5 | 29 | #1,758 | |
| 1975 | under 5 | 21 | #2,149 | |
| 1974 | under 5 | 22 | #2,009 | |
| 1973 | under 5 | 17 | #2,340 | |
| 1972 | under 5 | 12 | #2,874 | |
| 1971 | under 5 | 19 | #2,155 | |
| 1970 | under 5 | 16 | #2,325 | |
| 1969 | under 5 | 12 | #2,583 | |
| 1968 | under 5 | 11 | #2,617 | |
| 1967 | under 5 | 9 | #2,833 | |
| 1966 | under 5 | 7 | #3,323 | |
| 1965 | under 5 | 6 | #3,650 | |
| 1963 | under 5 | 10 | #2,729 | |
| 1962 | under 5 | 8 | #3,128 | |
| 1961 | under 5 | 11 | #2,590 | |
| 1959 | under 5 | 8 | #3,104 | |
| 1958 | under 5 | 10 | #2,695 | |
| 1957 | under 5 | 8 | #3,089 | |
| 1956 | under 5 | 10 | #2,682 | |
| 1955 | under 5 | 6 | #3,624 | |
| 1954 | under 5 | 8 | #3,021 | |
| 1953 | under 5 | 6 | #3,537 | |
| 1952 | under 5 | 7 | #3,180 | |
| 1951 | under 5 | 13 | #2,164 | |
| 1950 | under 5 | 8 | #2,846 | |
| 1949 | under 5 | 9 | #2,667 | |
| 1948 | under 5 | 10 | #2,498 | |
| 1947 | under 5 | 12 | #2,280 | |
| 1946 | under 5 | 6 | #3,282 | |
| 1945 | under 5 | 8 | #2,621 | |
| 1944 | under 5 | 11 | #2,231 | |
| 1943 | under 5 | 6 | #3,332 | |
| 1942 | under 5 | 9 | #2,576 | |
| 1941 | under 5 | 5 | #3,656 | |
| 1940 | under 5 | 8 | #2,729 | |
| 1939 | under 5 | 15 | #1,821 | |
| 1938 | under 5 | 6 | #3,279 | |
| 1937 | under 5 | 7 | #3,000 | |
| 1935 | under 5 | 7 | #3,048 | |
| 1934 | under 5 | 16 | #1,801 | |
| 1933 | under 5 | 15 | #1,855 | |
| 1932 | under 5 | 8 | #2,928 | |
| 1931 | under 5 | 11 | #2,369 | |
| 1930 | under 5 | 5 | #4,165 | |
| 1929 | under 5 | 12 | #2,361 | |
| 1928 | under 5 | 13 | #2,301 | |
| 1927 | under 5 | 16 | #2,067 | |
| 1926 | under 5 | 11 | #2,618 | |
| 1925 | under 5 | 16 | #2,032 | |
| 1924 | under 5 | 22 | #1,693 | |
| 1923 | under 5 | 15 | #2,152 | |
| 1922 | under 5 | 19 | #1,842 | |
| 1921 | under 5 | 21 | #1,728 | |
| 1920 | under 5 | 25 | #1,519 | |
| 1919 | under 5 | 20 | #1,714 | |
| 1918 | 5 | #5,048 | 32 | #1,239 |
| 1917 | under 5 | 24 | #1,453 | |
| 1916 | under 5 | 21 | #1,562 | |
| 1915 | under 5 | 25 | #1,351 | |
| 1914 | under 5 | 19 | #1,406 | |
| 1913 | under 5 | 17 | #1,275 | |
| 1912 | under 5 | 13 | #1,376 | |
| 1911 | under 5 | 6 | #1,595 | |
| 1910 | under 5 | 10 | #1,064 | |
| 1908 | under 5 | 5 | #1,442 | |
| 1906 | under 5 | 6 | #1,160 | |
| 1904 | under 5 | 5 | #1,261 | |
| 1903 | under 5 | 5 | #1,173 | |
| 1901 | under 5 | 6 | #982 | |
| 1900 | under 5 | 7 | #1,078 | |
| 1899 | under 5 | 6 | #964 | |
| 1898 | under 5 | 8 | #828 | |
| 1897 | under 5 | 5 | #1,109 | |
| 1896 | under 5 | 9 | #789 | |
| 1895 | under 5 | 10 | #707 | |
| 1890 | under 5 | 5 | #1,051 | |
| 1888 | under 5 | 6 | #958 | |
| 1887 | under 5 | 6 | #850 | |
| 1886 | under 5 | 5 | #1,012 | |
| 1882 | under 5 | 12 | #551 | |
| 1881 | under 5 | 8 | #668 | |
| 1880 | under 5 | 5 | #953 |
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 Ely a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 5,087 Americans recorded as Ely, 12% are girls and 88% boys.
Years with fewer than 20 babies given the name are left blank.
Girls and boys named Ely: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Ely, and how old are they?
4,340 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 85% of the 5,087 Americans ever recorded as Ely. The median Ely alive today is 19 years old; half are between 12 and 29.
The 2020 Census counted 5,426 people named Ely (1,273 women and girls, 4,153 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 4,018 born in the U.S. The Census count is 35% above that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out, and it records the name people give, which SSA may have recorded under another spelling or as part of a compound name.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 29 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 97 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 283 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 655 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 2,050 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 1,230 |
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 Ely born?
The states with the most babies named Ely are California, Texas and Pennsylvania, with 100% of its births recorded by state in 2025.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 5 | not ranked | 1.0× |
| Texas | 5 | #2,682 | 1.1× |
| Pennsylvania | 5 | #1,295 | 0.0× |
Where Ely is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Ely is most over-represented in New York: since 1910 it was given 1.2 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 boys’ 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 Ely 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 8 names spelled alike, given to 177,958 babies since 1880, Ely is the fourth most given (2.9% of them). In 2025 it was given to 65 of their 4,480 babies (1.5%), the third most given that year.
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.
More about Ely and names like it
- Compare Ely and EliBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 2000sEly peaked in 2009.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Ely since 1910.
- The top names of 2009The year the most babies were named Ely.
- The names of Generation ZMost people named Ely alive today were born 1997-2012.
- Names starting with EMost given first.