Ella - Meaning of Ella

What does Ella mean?

[ 2 syll. el-la, ell-a ] The baby girl name Ella is pronounced EHL-ah (English) †.

1: Ella's language of origin is Germanic, French, Old Provençal, Old Greek, Gothic. It is predominantly used in English, Italian, and Scandinavian. This evolved as a short form of longer names ending in '-ella' or starting with 'El-'. Alternatively, it could be of Germanic roots. The Normans brought the name to England in the 11th century, but it dropped off in use after the 14th century. It later saw a revival in the 19th century. In recent times, the previously obscure form Elle has been made popular by the supermodel Elle Macpherson (1964-).

Ella has 22 derivatives. Derivatives of the name include Alia, Alla (also used in Russian), Ela, Elah, Ella Mae, Elladine, Ellah, Ellamae, Ellea, Elleah, Ellee, Ellesse, Elletta, Elley, Elli, Ellia, Ellina, Elly, and Rella. Other English derivatives include the diminutives Elle, Ellette, and Ellie.

The origin and thus the meaning of the name Ella is inherited by all variant forms.

2: Ella's origin is Gothic, and its use, German. The name was originally a diminutive of various compound names with the Germanic element al or ali (meaning 'foreign, other'). The old form Alia (Germanic) was itself used as a short form of names containing ali (meaning 'foreign, other').

Ella is a derivative of the English Alja.

Ella is also a shortening of the English Cinderella.

Ella is also a diminutive (English and Scandinavian) of the English Eleanor.

Ella is also a diminutive (English and Scandinavian) of the Dutch, English, and Scandinavian Ellen.

Ella is also a diminutive (English) of the English, German, Italian, and Spanish Elvira.

Ella is also a diminutive (English and Scandinavian) of the English Helen.

Ella is also a diminutive (English and Italian) of Isabel.

See also the related forms, Gabriella, Graziella, Louella, and Elton.

See also the related categories, english, greek, element, normans, diminutive, obscure, italian, french, england, scandinavian, and german.

Ella is a very popular baby girl name. In 1900, 0.601% of baby girls were named Ella. It had a ranking of #42 then. The baby name has fallen from favor since then, and it is of only sporadic use in recent times. In 2018, it ranked at #15 with a usage of 0.436%, but it was nevertheless the most popular within all girl names in its family. Ella was 41% more widely used than the 2nd most popular name, Eleanor, in 2018.

Baby names that sound like Ella include Elleigh, Elek, Elese, Eliese, Eliesse, Elis, Eliz, Elize, Elka, Elkee, Elkey, Elki, Elkie, Elky, Ellese, Ellesse, Ellis, Ellse, Ellsy, and Ellys.

† Pronunciation for Ella: EH as in "ebb (EH.B)" ; L as in "lay (L.EY)" ; AH as in "mud (M.AH.D)"

Details of famous persons named Ella:
Author Jean Rhys, born Ella Gwendolen Rees Williams August 24, 1890 - May 14, 1979, Roseau, Dominica.
Jazz Singer Ella Fitzgerald, born 25 April 1918 - 15 June 1996, Newport News, Virginia.
Poet Ella Wheeler Wilcox, born November 5, 1850 - October 30, 1919, Johnstown, Wisconsin.