Ellie

English, diminutive of Eleanor and Ellen
"bright shining one"

Ellie Origin and Meaning

The name Ellie is a girl's name of English origin meaning "bright shining one".

Ellie first took off in the UK—yes, in this nickname form—and this warm and friendly name has also become hugely popular here. In 2011, Ellie entered the US Top 100 girl names for the first time and has remained near the top of the charts ever since.

Ellie derived as a nickname for names beginning with El-, such as Eleanor, Ella, and Elizabeth. In fact, Ellie's biggest downside is that it's used as a nickname for so many names, and given so frequently on its own, that you are sure to hear it far more than you might guess. Ellie is the standard spelling, but Elly and Elli are occasionally seen as variations.

Ellie also has surprising international range, ranking highly not only in English-speaking countries but throughout Scandinavia and in Belgium and Switzerland.

Ellie has been making many media appearances. Most recently, she's the young heroine played by Bella Ramsey in The Last of Us, based on a popular video game. Ellie has also been seen in the animated film Up, on The West Wing, and even as a woolly mammoth in the film Ice Age: The Meltdown.

# 27 in the US

Ellie Rank in US Top 1000

# 130 on Nameberry

Ellie Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Ellie Popularity

Famous People Named Ellie

  • Eleanor Louise "Ellie" Greenwich
    American songwriter
  • Elena Jane "Ellie" Goulding
    English singer
  • Elizabeth Claire "Ellie" Kemper
    American actress
  • Eleanor Suzanne "Ellie" Daniel
    American Olympic swimmer
  • Ellie Darcey
    Alden, English actress
  • Ellie Haddington
    Scottish actress
  • Ellie Krieger
    American celebrity chef and cookbook author
  • Eleanor May "Ellie" Simmonds
    British Paralympic swimmer
  • Ellie Victoria Cole
    Australian Paralympic swimmer
  • Ellie Lambeti
    Greek actress
  • Ellie Delvaux
    Belgian singer and song writer
  • Ellie Katherine Brush
    Australian soccer and football player
  • Ellie (Griffiths) Mecham
    American vlogger as part of "Ellie and Jared"
  • Ellie Jane Ross
    daughter of actress Sheila Hancock and Alec Ross
  • Ellie Scarborough
    daughter of TV anchor Chuck Scarborough
  • Ellie Bridget Bates (b. 2007)
    16th child (9th daughter) of the reality TV's "Bringing Up Bates" family
  • Ellie Porter (b. 2008)
    daughter of singer Lisa Kelly and dancer Scott Porter
  • Eleanor "Ellie" Kennedy (b. 2015)
    daughter of politician Joseph P. Kennedy III

Ellie in Pop Culture

  • Ellie Fredricksen
    Carl's wife in Pixar's "Up"
  • Eleanor "Ellie" Nash
    character on TV's "Degrassi: The Next Generation"
  • Eleanor Jane "Ellie" Mills
    character on British soap "Hollyoaks"
  • Ellie Linton
    main character in book/movie "Tomorrow, When the War Began"
  • Ellie
    main character in video game "The Last of Us"
  • Ellie Creed
    girl in Stephen King's "Pet Sematary"
  • Eleanor "Miss Ellie" Ewing
    matriarch on TV's "Dallas"
  • Ellen "Ellie" Andrews
    character in movie "It Happened One Night"
  • Eleanor "Ellie" Bishop
    character on TV's "NCIS"
  • Eleanor Faye "Ellie" Bartowski Woodcomb
    character on TV's "Chuck"
  • Ellie Miller
    character on British TV series "Broadchurch"
  • Ellie Langford
    character in Dead Space
  • Ellie Walker
    character on The Andy Griffith Show
  • Ellie Harp
    character on TV's One Tree Hill
  • Ellie Trout
    character on American soap "General Hospital"
  • Ellie Stone mystery series
    by James Ziskin
  • "Ellie Parker
    " 2005 movie and main character
  • Ellie Jackson
    main character in 1984 movie "Ellie"
  • Ellie Stinson
    daughter of Barney on TV's "How I Met Your Mother"
  • Ellie
    mammoth in the Ice Age movies
  • Ellie Bartlet
    daughter on TV's "The West Wing"
  • Ellie Arroway
    main character in book/movie "Contact"
  • Ellie Rebecca Brass
    character on TV's "CSI"
  • Dr. Ellie Sattler
    character in the Jurassic Park series
  • Ellie Torres
    main character on TV's "Cougar Town"
  • Ellie
    character in "The Roar" by Emma Clayton
  • Ellie
    character in video game "Borderlands 2"
  • Ellie Dennis
    character on TV's "Recovery Road"
  • Ellie Peters
    character on TV's "Stuck in the Middle"
  • Ellie Harrison
    character on TV's "Sean Saves the World"
  • Ellie Blake
    character in the 2018 Disney Channel Original Movie/musical "Freaky Friday"