Head to head · Girls' names
Ellis vs Sasha
#682 vs #683 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; Sasha 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: Ellis #972, Sasha — — Ellis higher
- 1890s: Ellis #1253, Sasha — — Ellis higher
- 1900s: Ellis #1499, Sasha — — Ellis higher
- 1910s: Ellis #1935, Sasha — — Ellis higher
- 1920s: Ellis #2153, Sasha — — Ellis higher
- 1930s: Ellis #2386, Sasha — — Ellis higher
- 1940s: Ellis #2871, Sasha — — Ellis higher
- 1950s: Ellis #3985, Sasha #6019 — Ellis higher
- 1960s: Ellis #5874, Sasha #4317 — Sasha higher
- 1970s: Ellis #8167, Sasha #758 — Sasha higher
- 1980s: Ellis #6993, Sasha #321 — Sasha higher
- 1990s: Ellis #4212, Sasha #352 — Sasha higher
- 2000s: Ellis #2577, Sasha #368 — Sasha higher
- 2010s: Ellis #1010, Sasha #495 — Sasha higher
- 2020s: Ellis #674, Sasha #625 — Sasha higher
Ellis stood higher in 8 of 15 decades; Sasha has held the lead since the 1960s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Ellis | Sasha |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #972 | — |
| 1890s | #1253 | — |
| 1900s | #1499 | — |
| 1910s | #1935 | — |
| 1920s | #2153 | — |
| 1930s | #2386 | — |
| 1940s | #2871 | — |
| 1950s | #3985 | #6019 |
| 1960s | #5874 | #4317 |
| 1970s | #8167 | #758 |
| 1980s | #6993 | #321 |
| 1990s | #4212 | #352 |
| 2000s | #2577 | #368 |
| 2010s | #1010 | #495 |
| 2020s | #674 | #625 |
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
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.
Sasha
defender of the people
Sasha is a diminutive rather than a word in itself; the meaning comes from Greek Alexandros, built from alexein, to defend, and andros, of man.
Alexandros → Alexander / Alexandra → Aleksandr / Aleksandra → Sasha
How it traveled
The root name is Greek: Alexandros, borne by the Macedonian king Alexander the Great, whose fame carried it across the ancient world and into nearly every European language. Russian took in both Aleksandr and Aleksandra and gave them the same household short form, Sasha, used freely for men and women alike — a pattern still standard across Russia, Ukraine and the Balkans.
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
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.
Sasha
SAH-shuh
Also widely said SASH-uh in the US, with the first vowel as in cash. Both are accepted; the stress stays on the first syllable either way.
- Sash — The common informal clip in English-speaking use, mostly within families and among friends.
- Sashenka — Russian affectionate double diminutive, used at home rather than in any official setting.
- Alexandra — Not a short form but the long one: some parents register Alexandra and use Sasha every day, which keeps a formal option in reserve.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Ellis if you want…
On the measures here, the records do not separate Ellis from Sasha.
Choose Sasha if you want…
- a name holding steadySasha is holding its place on the charts
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
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.
Sasha
Strengths
- Two syllables, spelled the way it sounds to most English readers, and short enough that it needs no nickname of its own.
- Recognized across Russian, French, German and Balkan usage, so it travels without translation or explanation.
- Sits on a documented line back to Greek Alexandros, one of the longest continuously used names in Europe.
To consider
- Sacha, Sascha and Saša are all established spellings elsewhere, so expect to confirm which one you mean fairly often.
- Across Russian, Ukrainian and Balkan communities Sasha is just as much a man's nickname — from Alexander — as a woman's, and people from those backgrounds may read it that way first.
- It is, at root, a diminutive, and a few relatives may treat it as the short form of something longer even when it stands alone on the birth certificate.
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 Ellis and Sasha 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 Ellis and Sasha?
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.
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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
Where Ellis and Sasha each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Ellis or Sasha — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Ellis or Sasha?
- Ellis, in 2025: Ellis ranked #682 with 415 babies; Sasha ranked #683 with 414 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Ellis or Sasha?
- Neither is rising. Over the last five years Ellis moved down 64 places; Sasha moved down 78 places.
- Which is the older name, Ellis or Sasha?
- Ellis entered the US charts in 1883; Sasha entered the US charts in 1956. On the American record, Ellis is the older name.
- How many people are named Ellis and Sasha?
- About 6,700 people named Ellis are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 38,000 people named Sasha are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Elliss or Sashas in the classroom?
- Ellis will almost certainly be the only one in school. Sasha 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
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