Ella (name)
| Pronunciation | /ˈɛlə/ EL-ə |
|---|---|
| Gender | Female |
| Origin | |
| Word/name | 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 |
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 said to have been originally the name of the region round Dodona.[2]
Another source indicates the name 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, Ellie, or Eloise.
The Hebrew word Ella (אלה) has two meanings:
1) A tree indigenous to the middle east from 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."
2) Ella means "goddess" in modern Hebrew.
Ella became used again during the Victorian era in English-speaking countries, and has been revived in the last decade, becoming a popular given name for baby girls born in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States and other English-speaking countries[4] , as well as in Israel.[5]
People with the given name
- Ella Hoag Brockway Avann (1853–1899), American educator, writer
- Ella Baker (1903–1986), African American civil rights and human rights activist
- Ella Maria Ballou (1852-1937), American stenographer, reporter, essayist, educator
- Ella Jay Basco, American actress
- 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, poet
- Ella Cara Deloria (1888–1971), educator, anthropologist, ethnographer, linguist, and novelist
- Ella Hepworth Dixon (1857-1932), English writer, novelist, editor
- Ella Loraine Dorsey (1853–1935), American author, journalist, translator
- Ella Hamilton Durley (ca. 1852 – 1922), American educator, newspaper editor, and journalist
- Ella Endlich (born 1984), German singer
- Ella Eyre (born 1994), English singer
- Ella Fitzgerald (1917–1996), American jazz singer
- Ella German (born 1937), friend of Lee Harvey Oswald
- Ella T. Grasso (1919–1981), American politician and first woman elected governor of Connecticut
- Ella Guru (born 1966), American painter and musician
- Ella Henderson (born 1996), British singer
- Ella Hunt (born 1998), British actress
- Ella Jenkins (born 1924), American folk singer
- Ella Eaton Kellogg (1853–1920), American philanthropist and pioneer in dietetics
- Ella Koon (born 1979), Hong Kong singer
- 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-?), American journalist, educator, activist, physician
- Ella Mae Morse (1924–1999), American popular singer from the 1940s
- Ella Pamfilova (born 1953), Russian politician
- Ella Raines (1920–1988), American actress
- Ella Giles Ruddy (1851–1917), American author, editor
- Ella Shields (1879–1952), British music hall singer and male impersonator
- Ella Yelich-O'Connor (born 1996), musician from New Zealand, 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 Soo Young Sohn (2005 - ), Canadian, Korean, Australian Artist
Fictional Characters
- Ella, the main character from Ella Enchanted
- Ella, a character from Total Drama: Pahkitew Island
See also
Notes
- ^ 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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