Ellen has been given to about 276,029 people in the United States since 1880. It was most common in 1951, which makes it a midcentury name.
Its best year was 1951, when 5,956 babies were given the name, ranking 68th. The typical living American called Ellen is about 69 years old today. It is relatively most common in Kansas, where it accounts for 0.02% of births.
Source: US Social Security Administration, national and state name files, 2025 release, and the Office for National Statistics for England and Wales. Etymology researched and written by our editors. Living-population and median-age figures are our own estimates, described in the methodology.