Contribute your knowledge to the name Ellery

Comments and insights on the name Ellery

Ellery is actually a boy's name. One reputable source: http://www.behindthename.com/name/ellery

Actually, it can be used for either sex. I know two women named Ellery. I love the name for a girl!

We used it as a less-common feminine alternative to the more-common name Emily.

Personal experiences with the name Ellery

When I had my second daughter in 1999, I named her Ellery Grace. We often call her Ellie. I wanted a unique name that would stand the test of time and to me, it sounds very feminine (although it is considered appropriate for either gender). It wasn't until AFTER she was born that I even heard of the author Ellery Queen (which was a pen name used by 2 authors) or the character by the same name. I still love her name, and even better, she loves it too...she has only ever met one other Ellery! She is effervescent, sociable, always cheerful, very energetic, and a little sassy.

We named our daughter Ellery Anna in 2010. We found Ellery as an alternative to Hillary, which means cheerful, and that is simply just her. She wakes up with a smile on her face every morning and is ready to great the world and everyone in it with joy and wonder. We thought it was a pretty, unique name without being hard to pronounce or spell. My husband also loves old detective mysteries, so he liked the Ellery Queen reference. She's also incredibly curious and loves to look under everything to see what's there, so the detective thing fits! She's not old enough yet to have any feelings about her name, but we love it and she gets lots of compliments on it!

When I first heard the name Ellery in 2009 I was pregnant, expecting a little girl and it immediately drew me in because it was so lyrical and feminine. But I hestitated when it came to committing because I felt it was such an impulsive and intuitive decision. It also didn't help that I couldn't track down a definitive root or meaning or even cultural base for it. I was so worried it was 'tryndee,' not quite Emily, not quite Hilary. But still I was drawn to it again and again, throughout the selection process. I also had a little war going on in my head because we wanted something that culturally referenced our sons name Ewan which is strongly Scottish. In the end we tied the names to one another with their starting letter - E - and we decided our daughter's middle name would be Skye for the island we visit in the Scottish highlands. And I also love the plethora of adorable nicknames that go along with it. We now have vivacious little Ellery Skye. She 2 yrs old, sweet and adorable and WOW what character.

Nicknames for Ellery

Ella, Ellie, Elle, Elles, L, "Celery"

Meanings and history of the name Ellery

A form of Hilary, from the Latin word for "cheerful". In English, Hilary/Hillary was originally primarily masculine, then fell out of use (except as a surname), and was revived as a feminine name in the 20th century.

Many websites try to derive Ellery from the Old English word for the alder tree, but scholarly works disagree.

Famous real-life people named Ellery

Ellery Klein, fiddler (www.elleryklein.net)
Ellery Queen
Ellery Hollingsworth, Pro Snowboarder (http://elleryhollingsworth.com/blog)
Ellery Sprayberry (child actress)
Band "Ellery" from Cincinnati, Ohio: http://www.ellerymusic.com/
Clothing/Fashion: http://www.elleryland.com/index.html

Ellery in song, story & screen