Ellin
Feminine · “a form of Helen”
Ellin is Ellen in an older-looking spelling, and it belongs in American history to one woman in particular: Ellin Mackay, the heiress who married Irving Berlin and was given one of his most famous songs as a wedding present.
How old is the name Ellin?
Ellin first appears in US birth records in 1918 — 107 years ago. The typical Ellin alive today was born around 1944, making them about 81 years old. About 300 people named Ellin are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Ellin most popular?
Ellin peaked in 1928, reaching #1541 nationally. See the whole 1928 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Helenē to Ellin
The story of Ellin
Ellin Mackay was the daughter of Clarence Mackay, head of a great telegraph company. As a young society woman she wrote an essay for The New Yorker explaining why her generation preferred cabarets to debutante balls, and the fuss it caused helped the new magazine find its readers. She then married Irving Berlin, a songwriter who had grown up poor on the Lower East Side, and her father cut her off. Berlin assigned her the rights to his song Always, so that it would support her whatever happened.
Meaning
a form of Helen
Ellin is a spelling of Ellen, the medieval English form of Helen. Helen's own Greek meaning is not settled, but the line from Helen to Ellen is.
How the name formed
- Helenē
- Helen
- Ellen
- Ellin
Related forms: Elin · Elin · Eibhlín · Eleni
Pronouncing Ellin
EL-in
Said exactly like Ellen. The -in spelling does not change the sound.
Nicknames for Ellin
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1918
- Most girls named
- 194835 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1541reached in 1928
- Change vs 2019
- 0.0%5 in 2023, from 5
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Ellin in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Elin in Welsh — same name
- Elin in Scandinavian — same name
- Eibhlín in Irish — related form
- Eleni in Greek — related form
Ellins among us
people named Ellin are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Ellin sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- It sounds exactly like a classic name while looking distinctive.
- Ellie and Nell are ready short forms.
- It has a real, well-documented American bearer with a memorable story.
- Nearly everyone will write Ellen, and she will spell it out often.
- Some will read it as Ellin with a short i, EL-lin, and a few as ee-LIN.
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What they receive
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Ellin
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Ellins are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 300 people named Ellin are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Ellin in 2025?
- Ellin is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Ellin with classmates?
- Ellin will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More E names
The most-given names starting with E, all years combined.
Elizabeth#17 · Emily#34 · Emma#3 · Evelyn#8 · Ella#29 · Eleanor#12 · Erin#833 · Edna#2458
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Ellin? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Ellin and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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