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Ellison is a feminine name in current use in the United States: it ranked #1067 for girls in the United States in 2025. Wiktionary derives Ellison from the surname Ellis plus -son, "son of Ellis"; Behind the Name traces Ellis back to Elias. The full derivation, and how far the sources will carry it, is set out below.
Meaning and etymology
Wiktionary derives the surname Ellison from Ellis plus the patronymic suffix -son, and lists Ellison as a unisex given name taken from that surname. Behind the Name derives Ellis in turn "From an English surname that was derived from the given name Elis, a medieval vernacular form of Elias", the form of Elijah used in several languages, adding that Ellis also served as an Anglicised form of Welsh Elisedd.
Editorial confidence: established
Linguistic roots
| Language | Form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| English | Ellis + -son | son of Ellis |
Competing or overlapping origins
- Behind the Name notes that Ellis can also be an Anglicised form of Welsh Elisedd.
Popularity
Ellison ranked #1067 for girls in the United States in 2025. The figure comes from the Social Security Administration's national file for that year.
| Region | Year | Rank | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 2025 | #1067 | ssa-2025 |
Frequently asked questions
What does the name Ellison mean?
Wiktionary derives Ellison from the surname Ellis plus -son, "son of Ellis"; Behind the Name traces Ellis back to Elias.
Is Ellison a popular name?
Ellison ranked #1067 for girls in the United States in 2025. (Social Security Administration data).
Is Ellison a boy's or a girl's name?
In the 2025 SSA data Ellison appears in the girls' list.
Sources
- U.S. Social Security Administration: Popular Baby Names — national data, year of birth 2025 — supports popularity, gender usage.
- Wiktionary: Ellison — Wiktionary, the free dictionary — supports surname etymology, use as a given name.
- Behind the Name: Meaning, origin and history of the name Ellis — supports derivation of Ellis from Elias.
- Behind the Name: Behind the Name search for Ellison (no entry) — supports absence of an entry for this spelling.
