Elli
A diminutive of Elizabeth, meaning "consecrated to God".
Name Census estimates that about 2,683 living Americans carry the first name Elli. It is a predominantly female name (98.7% of registrations). The average person named Elli today is around 19 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Elli births was 2014 (121 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Elli. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Elli with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
2.7K
~ 1 in 127,750 Americans
Peak year
2014
121 babies that year
Average age
19
years old
2017 SSA rank
#2,974
Tracked since 1955
Census
Elli in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 3,263 people with the first name Elli, which placed it at #5,308 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#5,308
National first-name rank
People counted
3.3K
3,263 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
75.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Elli
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Elli is White at 75.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (12.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (5.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Elli described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Elli at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White75.4% · 2,461
- Hispanic or Latino12.3% · 402
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.1% · 167
- Two or more races4.8% · 155
- Black or African American1.8% · 59
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 19
Gender
Gender distribution for Elli
Elli leans heavily female at 98.7% of total registrations, but 35 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Elli as a male name
- Ranked #11,162 in 2017
- 6 male births in 2017
- Peak: 2012 (7 births)
Elli as a female name
- Ranked #2,974 in 2024
- 55 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2014 (121 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Elli leans strongly female. 3,012 people counted with this name were female (92.3%), compared with 250 male bearers (7.7%).
Popularity
Elli: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Elli from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 972 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Elli remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Elli by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Elli during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ellis live
The SSA's state-level files cover 26 states and territories. California, Texas, Utah recorded the most babies named Elli, while Tennessee, Louisiana, Kansas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 32 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Elli
The name Elli has its origins in the Greek language and culture, dating back to ancient times. It is a shortened form of the Greek name Eleni, which itself is derived from the Greek word "helene," meaning light or torch. The name Eleni has been associated with the legendary figure of Helen of Troy, whose abduction is said to have sparked the Trojan War.
In ancient Greek mythology, Elli was also the name of a goddess who personified the rays of the sun. She was often depicted alongside her brother, Helios, the sun god, and was considered a minor deity associated with warmth and radiance.
The earliest recorded use of the name Elli can be traced back to the 5th century BC in ancient Greece. It was a popular name among Greek families, particularly those with connections to the arts, literature, and philosophy.
One of the most notable historical figures named Elli was Elli Lambridi (1898-1977), a Greek poet and writer who was part of the avant-garde literary movement in the early 20th century. Her works explored themes of love, nature, and the human condition.
Another prominent Elli was Elli Sougioultzoglou-Seraidari (1899-1998), a Greek philanthropist and activist who founded several charitable organizations dedicated to helping underprivileged children and families. She was widely respected for her dedication to social causes.
In the realm of sports, Elli Bekatorou (born 1977) is a Greek sailing champion who has won multiple Olympic medals, including gold in the 2004 Athens Olympics. Her achievements have made her a national icon and a role model for aspiring athletes.
Elli Avram (born 1990) is a Swedish-Greek actress and model who has appeared in several Bollywood films and television shows. She is known for her roles in movies like "Mickey Virus" and "Rustom."
Elli Kokkinou (born 1966) is a Greek singer and songwriter who has enjoyed a successful career spanning several decades. She has released numerous albums and is considered one of the most popular and influential artists in contemporary Greek music.
While the name Elli has its roots in ancient Greek culture, it has since been adopted and used in various other cultures and languages around the world, particularly in countries with strong Greek communities or influences.
People
Elli + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Elli as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with E
Other first names starting with E with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Elli: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Elli?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,683 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Elli going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 127,750 US residents.
Is Elli a common name?
We classify Elli as "Rare". It ranks above 94.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,740 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Elli most popular?
The single biggest year for Elli was 2014, when 121 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Elli is about 19 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Elli in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 3,263 people with the name Elli, or 1.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #5,308 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Elli in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Elli?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Elli leans strongly female. 3,012 people counted with this name were female (92.3%), compared with 250 male bearers (7.7%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Elli?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Elli is White at 75.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (12.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (5.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Elli most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Elli in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.4% (2,461 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Elli in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Elli a female name?
Yes, 98.7% of people registered as Elli in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Elli still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Elli in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Elli can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many Americans are named Elli?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.