Ellis
Meaning of Ellis
Ellis is a two-syllable charmer that packs a lot of history into its brisk, friendly stride. Growing out of medieval English as a variation of Elijah—“Yahweh is God”—it later picked up a Welsh gloss meaning “kind” or “benevolent,” and finally leapt the Atlantic as both a given name and a famous shoreline: Ellis Island, first glimpse of America for millions of hopeful newcomers. Those layered origins give Ellis a quietly epic feel, yet its sound is crisp enough for playground roll-call and board-room introductions alike. The name’s unisex status only adds to its easygoing versatility; parents have been steadily rediscovering it, nudging it up the U.S. charts every year since the turn of the millennium. Literary buffs may hear echoes of Emily Brontë’s pen name, Ellis Bell, while TV fans might think of the formidable Dr. Ellis Grey. Pronounced simply EL-is, it’s a no-fuss choice that still carries the suggestion of open doors, open minds, and the warm glow of welcome lights across the harbor.
Pronunciation
English
- Pronunced as EL-is (/ˈɛlɪs/)
U.S. Popularity Chart
States Popularity Chart
Notable People Named Ellis
| Ellis Wade Harrison is a Welsh centre forward for EFL League Two club Bristol Rovers who scored three goals in 14 under 21 matches for Wales. |
| Ellis Rowan was a renowned Australian artist and botanical illustrator who also painted birds butterflies and insects. |
| Ellis Marsalis Jr was an American jazz pianist and educator who rose to wider fame in the 1980s and 1990s as the patriarch of the Marsalis family, with sons Branford and Wynton becoming leading jazz musicians. |
| Sir Ellis Kirkham Waterhouse was an English art historian of Roman baroque and English painting who directed the National Galleries of Scotland from 1949 to 1952 and later held the Barber chair at Birmingham University until 1970. |
| Ellis Ashmead-Bartlett was an English World War I correspondent whose Gallipoli reporting shaped the Anzac legend and helped oust Sir Ian Hamilton, prompting the British evacuation from Gallipoli. |
| Ellis Fuller Lawrence was an American architect in Oregon who cofounded the University of Oregon School of Architecture and Allied Arts in 1914 and served as its first dean until his death. |
| USC-trained American director Ellis Roderick Dungan moved to India in 1935 and became a leading figure in Tamil cinema from 1936 to 1950, launching stars including M G Ramachandran with Sathi Leelavathi. |
| Ellis Reco Simms is an English striker for Coventry City in the EFL Championship. |
| Ellis Carlo Iandolo is an English footballer for Colchester United, primarily a left back who can also play wing back and midfield. |
| Ellis Ellis-Griffith - Sir Ellis Jones Ellis Griffith, first Baronet, was a British barrister and radical Liberal politician, born Ellis Jones Griffith. |
| Ellis Clarke - Sir Ellis Emmanuel Innocent Clarke was the first president and last governor general of Trinidad and Tobago and a key architect of the 1962 independence constitution. |
| Ellis McNatt Jones is an American sociologist and author at the College of the Holy Cross, known for translating corporate social and environmental records into an A to F rating for consumers. |
| Ellis Ashmead-Bartlett - Sir Ellis Ashmead Bartlett was an American born British Conservative MP from 1880 to 1902. |
| Ellis Robins, 1st Baron Robins - Thomas Ellis Robins was an American born British businessman and public servant based mainly in Rhodesia. |
| Ellis Paxson Oberholtzer was an American biographer and historian. |
