Masterpiece Generator Name Generator
How popular is the name Ely?
Births per year, rank history and how many Elies are alive today.
Ely (male) is a rare spelling of the boys' name Eli in England and Wales, ranked 5137th in 2025 and given to 3 babies. This spelling of the name peaked in 2010, when 13 babies were given the name, the 1724th most popular that year. It has declined since 2010; the 2025 figure is roughly 23% of its peak.
Across all spellings of the name, the Eli you are most likely to meet is around 9 years old. Half of all Elis born in England and Wales are between 5 and 13, and there are at least 8,800 of them alive today. If you walk into a room of 100 males, there's roughly a 2.9% chance that at least one of them will be called Eli.
How many babies are named Ely each year?
Includes all spellings: Ely, Eli. Figures before 1996 are estimates.
Where does the Ely spelling rank?
Where does the Eli spelling rank?
Where this data comes from
Figures from 1996 onwards are the Office for National Statistics' annual baby-name registrations for England and Wales, which record every name given to three or more babies in a year. Figures before 1996 are estimates: the ONS published only top-100 rankings at ten-year intervals back to 1904, so counts for those years are modelled from the rankings, calibrated against Douglas Galbi's long-run research into English name frequencies, and shown with an uncertainty band. Estimates of living bearers combine these birth figures with national life tables and ONS mid-year population estimates.
One limit worth naming: these figures count names as registered at birth. Anyone who changes their name later in life - including trans people, and anyone who adopts a different name by deed poll or simply by use - is not reflected here. Birth registrations record where a name began, not the name a person lives with.
Common questions
When was the name Ely most popular?
The most popular form of the name, Eli, peaked in 2016, when 627 babies in England and Wales were given the name. The Ely spelling itself peaked in 2010, with 13 babies.
How many people are called Ely?
At least 8,800 people named Ely in any spelling born in England and Wales are alive today.
How old is the typical Ely?
Most living Elies are between 5 and 13; the most common age is about 9.
Is Ely becoming more or less popular?
Declining: recent figures are a fraction of the 2016 peak.