Ella is a personal name most often used as a feminine given name, but also as a surname, especially in Australia. In Greek mythology, Ella (Greek: Ἕλλα) was the daughter of Athamas and Nephele.[1] The name may be a cognate with Hellas (Greek: Ἑλλάς), the Greek name for Greece, which is said to have originally been the name of the region around Dodona.[2]
| Pronunciation | /ˈɛlə/ EL-ə |
|---|---|
| Gender | Female |
| Origin | |
| Language(s) | Greek, Norman, Hebrew |
| Meaning | beautiful, fairy Maiden, Goddess |
| Other names | |
| Related names | Elah, Eleanor, Elizabeth, Elle, Ellen, Ellie, Alla, Ellika, Ellit, Illy, Elat, Illa, Elia, Aelia |
Another source indicates that Ella is a Norman version of the Germanic short name Alia, which was short for a variety of German names with the element ali-, meaning "other".[3] It is also a common short name for names starting with El-, such as Eleanor, Elizabeth, Elle, Ellen, Elaine, Ellie, or Eloise.
The Hebrew word Ella (אלה) has two meanings:
- A tree indigenous to the Middle East, of the pistachio family (Pistacia terebinthus). As written in Isaiah 6–13: "And though a tenth remains in the land, it will again be laid waste. But as the terebinth and oak leave stumps when they are cut down, so the holy seed will be the stump in the land."
- Ella means "goddess" in modern Hebrew.
In English-speaking countries, Ella was popular during the Victorian era and again became popular in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Elsewhere, the name is popular in County Kerry, Ireland,[4] and Israel.[5]
People with the given name
edit- Ella Anderson (born 2005), American child actress
- Ella Aquino (1902–1988), Native American civil rights activist
- Ella Phillips Crandall (1871–1938), American nurse
- Ella Hoag Brockway Avann (1853–1899), American educator, and writer
- Ella Baker (1903–1986), African American civil rights and human rights activist
- Ella Maria Ballou (1852–1937), American stenographer, reporter, essayist, and educator
- Ella Jay Basco, American actress
- Ella Bennett (2002–2007), American murder victim
- Ella A. Bigelow (1849–1917), American author and clubwoman
- Ella Thomas Foreacre Brantley (1864–1948), American clubwoman and civic leader
- Ella Bully-Cummings (born 1958), first female police chief of Detroit
- Ella Chen (born 1981), member of the Taiwanese girl group S.H.E.
- Ella Maria Dietz Clymer (1847–1920), American actress and poet
- Ella Corfield (nee Caird), British pharmacist
- Ella D. Crawford (1852–1932), American temperance movement organizer
- Ella Cruz (born 1996), Filipina actress, product endorser, host, commercial & promotional model, and dancer
- Ella Cara Deloria (1888–1971), Native American educator, anthropologist, ethnographer, linguist, and novelist
- Ella Hepworth Dixon (1857–1932), English writer, novelist, and editor
- Ella Loraine Dorsey (1853–1935), American author, journalist, and translator
- Ella Hamilton Durley (1852–1922), American educator, newspaper editor, and journalist
- Ella Emhoff (born 1999), American model, artist, designer, and U.S. Second Daughter
- Ella Endlich (born 1984), German singer
- Ella Eronen (1900–1987), Finnish actress
- Ella Eyre (born 1994), English singer
- Ella Fitzgerald (1917–1996), American jazz singer
- Ella Mae Gallavan (1903–1966), American pathologist
- Ella M. George (1850–1938), American teacher, lecturer, social reformer
- Ella German (born 1937), friend of Lee Harvey Oswald
- Ella T. Grasso (1919–1981), American politician and first woman elected governor of Connecticut
- Ella Halikas, American model and social media influencer
- Ella Havelka (born 1989), ballet dancer and first Indigenous person to join the Australian Ballet
- Ella Gifft (1882–1964), American businesswoman and suffragist
- Ella Gross (born 2008), American model and actress, member of South Korean group Meovv
- Ella Guru (born 1966), American painter and musician
- Ella Henderson (born 1996), British singer
- Ella Hunt (born 1998), British actress
- Ella Jenkins (1924–2024), American folk singer
- Ella Jones, mayor of Ferguson, Missouri from 2020
- Ella Junnila (born 1998), Finnish high jumper
- Ella Eaton Kellogg (1853–1920), American philanthropist and pioneer in dietetics
- Ella B. Kendrick (1849–1928), American temperance activist
- Ella Koon (born 1979), Hong Kong singer
- Ella Lloyd (born 2005), Welsh racing driver
- Ella Logan (1913–1969), Scottish actress and singer
- Ella Mai (born 1994), British singer
- Ella Maillart (1903–1997), Swiss adventurer, travel writer, photographer, and sportswoman
- Ella M. S. Marble (1850–1929), American journalist, educator, activist, and physician
- Ella Morgan (1876–1958), American school librarian
- Ella Mae Morse (1924–1999), American singer
- Ella Norraikow (1849-1913), Canadian author, metaphysician
- Ella Pamfilova (born 1953), Russian politician
- Ella Purnell (born 1996), English actress
- Ella Raines (1920–1988), American actress
- Ella Giles Ruddy (1851–1917), American author, editor
- Ella Smith (born 1983), English actress
- Ella Shields (1879–1952), British music hall singer and male impersonator
- Ella May Thornton (1885-1971), American librarian
- Ella King Torrey (1957–2003), American scholar, academic administrator
- Ella Yelich-O'Connor (born 1996), New Zealand musician, known by her stage name "Lorde"
- Ella Young (1867–1956), Irish poet and Celtic mythologist
- Ella Wheeler Wilcox (1850–1919), American poet and author
- Ella B. Ensor Wilson (1838–1913), American social reformer and writer
People with the surname
edit- Gary Ella (born 1960), Australian rugby union footballer
- Glen Ella (born 1959), Australian rugby union footballer
- Krishna Ella (born 1969), Indian scientist and entrepreneur
- Mark Ella (born 1959), Australian rugby union footballer
- Norman Ella (1910–1987), Australian rowing coxswain
- Steve Ella (born 1960), Australian rugby league footballer
Fictional characters
edit- Ella, the heroine from Cinderella (2015)
- Ella, the main character from Ella Enchanted
- Ella, a character from Total Drama: Pahkitew Island
- Ella Lopez, a character from Lucifer
- Elinor "Ella" Love, a character in Motown Magic
- Ella, a character in Paw Patrol
- Ella Forster, a character from the British soap opera Emmerdale
- Ella Montgomery, a character from Pretty Little Liars
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ Ἕλλα, William J. Slater, Lexicon to Pindar, on Perseus
- ^ Ἑλλάς, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus
- ^ Behind the Name: Name Search
- ^ Behind the Name: Popularity for Ella
- ^ (Israel Hayom): Popular names by cities
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