Name Ella Origin, meaning, pronunciation & popularity of the name Ella

Ella is a ♀ girl’s name.

What is the origin of the name Ella?

Ella is a short version of names beginning with “El-“ or ending in “-ella”, e.g. Elizabeth, Eleanor, Ellen, Gabriella. Besides, Ella is a Norman variant of the Germanic name Alia.

What does the name Ella mean?

Ella means “my God is an oath” (from Elizabeth), “merciful” or “God is my light” (from Eleanor) and “other” or “another” (from Alia).

Names like Ella

Ella is a suffix to a multitude of names, such as Abella, Abriella, Adella, Aella, Amabella, Amarella, Amybella, or Anabella. Additionally, there are various names that are similar to Ella e.g., Elea, Elli, Ellie, Elly, Eila, Ela, Eyla, Eloa or Eleah.
Common nicknames for Ella are El, Elle, Ellie, Ellabella or simply L.
Suggested sibling names that work well with Ella are Aiden, Leo, Noah, and Patrick for boys as well as Alice, Camille, Mia, Odette, and Jane for girls.

Popular Middle Names

Parents seem to enjoy pairing the name Ella with a unisex middle name such as Ella Eden, Ella Blake, Ella Taylor, Ella James, Ella Parker, Ella Avery or Ella Emerson.

Famous bearers of the name Ella

• Ella Fitzgerald (1917 - 1996) is an American jazz legend. From 1929 to 1995 Ella Fitzgerald was known as the Queen of Jazz or the First Lady of Song. The Frech singer France Gall (1947 - 2018) released the song “Ella, elle l’a” in 1987, this song is an homage to Ella Fitzgerald.
• Another famous singer is Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O’Connor (born 1996), who is better known under her stage name Lorde. Her debut single “Royals” was a worldwide success.
• The African American civil rights and human rights activist Ella Baker (1903 - 1986) is famous for being among the founders of Martin Luther King’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1957.

Cinder-Ella

Almost everyone has heard of the famous Brothers Grimm fairytale “Cinderella”. This classic fairytale has been turned into various movies. From the classic Disney animated movie “Cinderella” to the newest Disney version “Sneakerella”. The from rags to riches stories of the poor orphan girl, hazed by her step siblings and stepmother, has been used in numerous movies. Some of these movies even named the main character Ella.

2015 the real-life version of Cinderella was released into cinemas by Disney. In this movie Lily James (born 1989) plays the role of Cinder-Ella. This movie version of the classical fairytale does not have musical scenes, which is rather unusual for a Disney production. Its plot and storyline stick closely to the original Brothers Grimm version.

The 2021 Amazon Prime Video movie “Cinderella” on the other hand, is a musical. It uses all-time favorite pop songs instead of an original soundtrack. This movie is based on the Cinderella story. However, its plot differs significantly from the classic fairytale. In this movie Ella, played by Camila Cabello (born 1997), does not aspire to marry a prince. But rather wants to go to the ball to promote her own dress designs, as she dreams of becoming a famous designer. The prince however falls in love with her and abdicates in order to fulfill Ella’s dream.

One of Anne Hathaway’s (born 1986) classic movies is “Ella Enchanted”. This movie is based on the Cinderella story as well. However, incorporates the genres fantasy and romantic comedy as well. Ella was blessed by her fairy good mother with obedience. But due to her step family’s evil nature her gift is actually a curse. On her quest to have the fairy remove this curse, she meets the prince of her country and they fall in love. With the help of her new orc, elf, and giant friends, Ella saves the prince as well as herself and they live happily ever after.

Ella in Literature

• In the famous book series “Percy Jackson” by Rick Riordan (born 1964), from 2005, Ella is a young harpy which is feathered in three books of the series. Ella has photographic memory and is therefore very knowledgeable. She uses her knowledge to help the protagonist Percy Jackson and even falls in love with his half-brother Tyson.
• Ella Herondale is a side character in Cassandra Clare’s (born 1973) famous teenage fantasy series “Infernal Devices” from 2010. Ella is the sister of Will Herondale. Her death is a big part of his coming-of-age story.

Pronunciation of Ella

Variants of the name Ella

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