Head to head · Boys' names
Edward vs Ellis
#224 vs #243 in 2025
Edward is a whisker ahead (#224 vs #243 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Edward is holding its place on the charts, Ellis is back after a long quiet spell. On momentum, Ellis has the edge.
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, Edward leads 4 measures of 6; Ellis leads 1.
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: Edward #11, Ellis #181 — Edward higher
- 1890s: Edward #10, Ellis #171 — Edward higher
- 1900s: Edward #9, Ellis #175 — Edward higher
- 1910s: Edward #8, Ellis #193 — Edward higher
- 1920s: Edward #9, Ellis #218 — Edward higher
- 1930s: Edward #12, Ellis #255 — Edward higher
- 1940s: Edward #18, Ellis #290 — Edward higher
- 1950s: Edward #24, Ellis #368 — Edward higher
- 1960s: Edward #29, Ellis #490 — Edward higher
- 1970s: Edward #40, Ellis #640 — Edward higher
- 1980s: Edward #57, Ellis #732 — Edward higher
- 1990s: Edward #86, Ellis #795 — Edward higher
- 2000s: Edward #130, Ellis #818 — Edward higher
- 2010s: Edward #160, Ellis #478 — Edward higher
- 2020s: Edward #216, Ellis #291 — Edward higher
Edward stood higher in every recorded decade — 15 of 15.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Edward | Ellis |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #11 | #181 |
| 1890s | #10 | #171 |
| 1900s | #9 | #175 |
| 1910s | #8 | #193 |
| 1920s | #9 | #218 |
| 1930s | #12 | #255 |
| 1940s | #18 | #290 |
| 1950s | #24 | #368 |
| 1960s | #29 | #490 |
| 1970s | #40 | #640 |
| 1980s | #57 | #732 |
| 1990s | #86 | #795 |
| 2000s | #130 | #818 |
| 2010s | #160 | #478 |
| 2020s | #216 | #291 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Edward
- England & Wales#31
Ellis
- England & Wales#95
- Scotland#100
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Edward
guardian of riches
Old English Eadweard joins ead, wealth or good fortune, with weard, a guardian or watchman — the same weard behind warden and ward. The ead element opens Edith, Edmund and Edgar and was among the most prestigious pieces in the Anglo-Saxon naming stock. The derivation is not disputed. Compound names were assembled from valued elements rather than for a combined sense, but this pair produces a clear and coherent image.
Eadweard → Edward
How it traveled
Edward the Confessor died childless in ten sixty-six and set off the succession crisis that produced the conquest; he was canonized a century later, and the Norman and Plantagenet kings adopted his name deliberately, to claim continuity with the English line they had displaced. Eight kings have carried it since.
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
Edward
ED-wurd
ED-wurd, two syllables, stress at the front, the second vowel reduced. Spanish and Italian add a syllable and move the weight to the middle. The English reading has been stable for a thousand years, which very few names can say.
- Ed — The front clipped, and a complete working name; the plainest of the options.
- Eddie — The same softened, warm in nearly every setting it is used.
- Ted — The medieval rhyming form, made by swapping the initial consonant — the same trick that gave Dick from Rick.
- Ned — The other rhyming form, from mine Ed heard as my Ned, and older than Ted.
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.
Who has carried each name
Edward
Edward Jenner (b. 1749) — Pioneered vaccination
Edward Norton (b. 1969) — Fight Club star
Edward VIII (b. 1894) — The king who gave up the throne for love
Ellis
No documented entry for Ellis yet.
Source: Wikidata — the one source on this page that is not an official agency.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Edward if you want…
- a name most people already know#224 in 2025, 1,591 babies that year
- a name holding steadyEdward is holding its place on the charts
Choose Ellis if you want…
- a name fewer children share#243 in 2025 — ellis will almost certainly be the only one in school
- a name on the way upup 83 places on the charts in five years
- a name that charts abroad tooEllis is on the national lists of England & Wales and Scotland
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
Edward
Strengths
- It is the only Old English men's name in unbroken use, which is a genuine distinction.
- Ed, Eddie, Ted and Ned are four short forms in four different registers, two of them unrecognizable as belonging to it.
- Every European language has a version, so it crosses a border without translation.
To consider
- It is strongly represented among older generations in America and reads that way to many people.
- Ted and Ned bear no audible relation to the full name, so a child using either will spend time explaining it.
- A great many people already carry it, so an Edward will rarely be the only one in a workplace.
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.
How each is likely to age
Edward
12%chance Edward feels dated by 2040
Edward has held the top-100 across 12 different decades — it has never depended on fashion, and names like that read the same at any age.
Ellis
30%chance Ellis feels dated by 2040
Ellis is on its second act. Revived names age gently: the generation that wore them first is far enough away that the name feels classic rather than dated.
A reading of where each name sits on the long naming cycle — computed, not measured, and explained on the data page.
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 Edward 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 Edward 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.
Lists these names appear on
- The top-10 club: every name that made it
- Greatest Generation names (born 1901–1927)
- Silent Generation names (born 1928–1945)
- Baby Boomer names (born 1946–1964)
- all guides
Where Edward and Ellis each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Edward or Ellis — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Edward or Ellis?
- Edward, in 2025: Edward ranked #224 with 1,591 babies; Ellis ranked #243 with 1,417 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Edward or Ellis?
- Ellis. Over the last five years Edward moved down 29 places; Ellis moved up 83 places.
- Which is the older name, Edward or Ellis?
- The US record cannot say: both were already in use when it began in 1880.
- How many people are named Edward and Ellis?
- About 612,000 people named Edward are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 29,000 people named Ellis are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Edwards or Elliss in the classroom?
- Edward 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; international figures from national statistics agencies. 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 Edward, 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