Head to head · Girls' names
Coraline vs Ellis
#683 vs #682 in 2025 · both holding its place on the charts
Ellis is a whisker ahead (#682 vs #683 in 2025) and both are holding its place on the charts. The records will not split these two — sound, story and your own last name will.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
On the charts, Ellis leads 3 measures of 6; Coraline leads 2.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: Coraline —, Ellis #972 — Ellis higher
- 1890s: Coraline —, Ellis #1253 — Ellis higher
- 1900s: Coraline —, Ellis #1499 — Ellis higher
- 1910s: Coraline —, Ellis #1935 — Ellis higher
- 1920s: Coraline —, Ellis #2153 — Ellis higher
- 1930s: Coraline —, Ellis #2386 — Ellis higher
- 1940s: Coraline —, Ellis #2871 — Ellis higher
- 1950s: Coraline —, Ellis #3985 — Ellis higher
- 1960s: Coraline —, Ellis #5874 — Ellis higher
- 1970s: Coraline #7070, Ellis #8167 — Coraline higher
- 1980s: Coraline —, Ellis #6993 — Ellis higher
- 1990s: Coraline —, Ellis #4212 — Ellis higher
- 2000s: Coraline #10780, Ellis #2577 — Ellis higher
- 2010s: Coraline #729, Ellis #1010 — Coraline higher
- 2020s: Coraline #694, Ellis #674 — Ellis higher
Ellis stood higher in 13 of 15 decades; Ellis took the 2020s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Coraline | Ellis |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | — | #972 |
| 1890s | — | #1253 |
| 1900s | — | #1499 |
| 1910s | — | #1935 |
| 1920s | — | #2153 |
| 1930s | — | #2386 |
| 1940s | — | #2871 |
| 1950s | — | #3985 |
| 1960s | — | #5874 |
| 1970s | #7070 | #8167 |
| 1980s | — | #6993 |
| 1990s | — | #4212 |
| 2000s | #10780 | #2577 |
| 2010s | #729 | #1010 |
| 2020s | #694 | #674 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Coraline
coral
The main reading takes it as a French diminutive of Coralie, from Latin corallium and Greek korallion, the coral of the Mediterranean. A second account ties it instead to Caroline: Neil Gaiman has said the name came to him as a mistyping of Caroline that he liked too much to correct. Both roads are real, and they arrive at the same spelling.
korallion (Greek) → corallium (Latin) → Coralie → Coraline
How it traveled
Coralie appears in French use from the nineteenth century, when coral ornaments were fashionable across Europe, and Coraline follows it as a diminutive on the same pattern that gives French Adeline beside Adele. The root runs back through Latin corallium to Greek korallion.
Ellis
From Elias/Elijah — "my God is Yahweh"; in Wales also linked to Elisedd
The main line runs through Elis, the ordinary medieval English form of Elias, itself the Greek spelling of Hebrew Eliyahu, "my God is Yahweh." In Wales, Ellis is also tied to the older Welsh name Elisedd, whose own meaning is not settled. Both roads are taken seriously by name scholars, and the two very likely reinforced each other.
Eliyahu → Elias → Elis → Ellis
How it traveled
In medieval England and Wales, Elias — the form of Elijah used by the Greek translators of the Hebrew Bible and carried into Latin — was clipped in everyday speech to Elis. Ordinary men were baptized with it, and when fixed surnames spread, their descendants became Ellis.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Coraline
KOR-uh-line
KOR-uh-line, rhyming with the end of Caroline, is the usual American reading and the one used in the film. KOR-uh-leen also gets used, and French Coraline is closer to ko-ra-LEEN with the stress at the end. Worth deciding which you want, since both will be offered to you.
- Cora — The most used short form, and a long-established given name in its own right.
- Lina — Informal, taken from the back of the name; also a standalone name in several European languages.
- Cori — Casual spoken form, sometimes spelled Corrie or Cory.
- Coco — Household nickname rather than anything used on paper.
Ellis
EL-iss
Stress on the first syllable. Spoken quickly it can land close to Alice or Elise, so expect the occasional need to repeat it on the phone.
- Eli — The most common short form; also a long-established given name on its own.
- Ellie — Informal, used more often for girls named Ellis; a very common standalone name too.
- El — Casual, family-level; works for a child of either sex.
- Ells — Schoolyard and teammate shortening, the way surnames get clipped.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Coraline if you want…
- a name with more sound in itCoraline runs 3 syllables, Ellis 2
Choose Ellis if you want…
- a name holding steadyEllis is holding its place on the charts
- a name with fewer syllablesEllis is 2 syllables to Coraline's 3
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Coraline
Strengths
- Cora comes ready-made as a short form and has a long independent record as a name of its own.
- Readable at first sight for English speakers — the pieces Cora and -line are both already familiar.
- Widely recognized through a well-known book and film, so it rarely needs spelling out from scratch.
To consider
- The Gaiman story is the association most people reach for, and it is a children's horror tale with button-eyed doubles in it. Many families love that; some would rather their daughter's name not arrive attached to a plot.
- Two pronunciations circulate — ending in -line or in -leen — so she will spend some of her life correcting people, whichever one you pick.
- In speech it sits close to Caroline and Coralie, and both will be written down by mistake now and then.
Ellis
Strengths
- One spelling, and one most people have already seen — on maps, in family names, at Ellis Island. Rarely misspelled once heard clearly.
- Short enough to need no nickname, but comes with Eli, Ellie and El if a child wants one.
- Travels: it charts in England, Wales and Scotland as well as the US, and connects to Elias, Élie and Elia abroad.
To consider
- Most children named Ellis are boys, but a real minority are girls. Whichever side you are on, expect some assumptions: a girl named Ellis will occasionally be read as a boy on paper, and both will now and then be taken as a surname.
- By ear it sits close to Alice, Elise and Eloise, and close to Eli and Elias. Introductions in noisy rooms may need a second pass.
- It is very much a surname as well as a first name, so listen to it with yours — Ellis followed by another surname can sound like two last names in a row.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Coraline and Ellis in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Coraline and Ellis?
Put both to the vote.
One link to your partner, your parents, your sister. Each of them gets the two names, a one-tap answer and room to say why — and every reply lands in one place.
Free to start · no account needed · everyone you invite votes in one tap
More than two in the running? Settle it with a bracket or run the full comparison with your last name.
More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Coraline or Ellis — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Coraline or Ellis?
- Ellis, in 2025: Ellis ranked #682 with 415 babies; Coraline ranked #683 with 414 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Coraline or Ellis?
- Neither is rising. Over the last five years Coraline moved down 36 places; Ellis moved down 64 places.
- Which is the older name, Coraline or Ellis?
- Coraline entered the US charts in 1970; Ellis entered the US charts in 1883. On the American record, Ellis is the older name.
- How many people are named Coraline and Ellis?
- About 6,700 people named Coraline are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 6,700 people named Ellis are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Coralines or Elliss in the classroom?
- Coraline will almost certainly be the only one in school. Ellis will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
Keep playing
Sixty more head-to-heads are dealt in the arena every day — or line up Coraline, Ellis and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
Free to start · no account needed · everyone you invite votes in one tap