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Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

Original poster

Please don't tell me Ellis is more of a girls name?

64 replies

DomesticG0ddess · 25/08/2010 11:01

Expecting DS2. Ellis is the one name we both really like. Goes well with DS1 (uncommon but not weird), our families are all from Wales, and I just really like it. But I did a search on it on mumsnet and it seems to come up more for a girls name choice than a boys!

What do people think of Ellis and is it completely unisex, or have you heard it used more on girls than boys? I don't know any Ellis' btw.

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morganlebuffay · 25/08/2010 14:47

interesting thereisalight... but...but... how is Marilyn a boys' name? I thought it was created as an elaboration of Mary... is there a notable male Marilyn I should know about? The others I can understand, as Hilary & Vivian really were 'proper' male names derived from the Latin, while Marion - though a female name, French derivative fo Marie - also happened to be the surname of an American war hero (Francis Marion) so it got used a bit for boys over there. Feeling sorry for any men called Marilyn as it is so Monroe!

Patsy99 · 25/08/2010 14:40

And a very nice middle name that is too.

I think "Elis" must be more correct in Welsh than "Ellis" given the "ll" sound.

wonderstuff · 25/08/2010 14:31

Interesting you should say that Patsy our boy has middle name Elus, acutally Welsh spelling of the name seems to be Elisud, which is derived from Welsh word elus, which means kind Smile so we seem to have named our boy kind in Welsh rather than giving him the Welsh name meaning kind iyswim. I'm Welsh but born and brought up in England and not a Welsh speaker.

Patsy99 · 25/08/2010 14:01

DS is Ellis. It was actually his Scottish grandfather's name, although I'm Welsh. I thought that strictly the Welsh spelling would be "Elus"?

I know 2 other "Ellises". One an adult man, one a boy.

thereisalightanditnevergoesout · 25/08/2010 13:33

morganlebuffay - yes Marilyn is a boys' name, too and I can never really get my head around 'Marion' (John Wayne's real name), 'Hilary', 'Vivian' (not sure if there's a male spelling) as male names. However my DD's name 'Romilly' is also a boys' name - but mostly used for girls now. I think it's what you get used to - I grew up with male 'Ashleys' too - but now they are all girls.

DuelingFanjo · 25/08/2010 12:43

yeah, there are Dillans but it's not Welsh, it's just people spelling it a different way and in Welsh the double 'L' would be a different sound making it sound nothing like Dylan - honest.

LadyThompson · 25/08/2010 12:28

I had an ex boyfriend called Ellis. Deffo a lad's name.

scottishmummy · 25/08/2010 12:28

ellis i know is boy.i like it

bigstripeytiger · 25/08/2010 12:17

I think of Ellis as a girls name. I wouldnt personally use it for a boy.

Original poster
DomesticG0ddess · 25/08/2010 12:17

Thanks for your feedback - I will definitely stick with it unless another name grabs me in the next few weeks, which I think unlikely!

OP posts:
morganlebuffay · 25/08/2010 12:16

Marilyn, activate??

Ellis to me says 'boy'. Actually, it says 'surname' but as a first name, I would think it was a boy.

emmyloo2 · 25/08/2010 12:16

I would have definitely said boy's name not girls. I really like it for a boy.

walesblackbird · 25/08/2010 12:14

It's my son's middle name. I've never heard it being used for a girl. We are Welsh by the way.

Original poster
DomesticG0ddess · 25/08/2010 12:07

There are Dillans as well as Dylans in the part of Wales we are from, honest! - and Ellis is a common surname, not pronounced with a LL sound. I guess it depends which part of Wales - the variations are probably quite wide. I have come across one Elis, from South Wales.

OP posts:
DuelingFanjo · 25/08/2010 11:53

There also isn't a name 'Dillan', the welsh way is Dylan which would be pronounced Dul-Ann.

DuelingFanjo · 25/08/2010 11:51

"Duelling, it is Ellis in Wales too"

there's also an Elis in Wales which is the name of my Welsh speaking friend's nephew. She says it would be a different pronounciation in Welsh with the double 'L'.

Shabbychiclover · 25/08/2010 11:50

My two year old ds is Ellis.Everyone loves the name and it suits him and his cheeky personality.Grin

Bacofoil · 25/08/2010 11:40

...or am I thinking of Alice...?

Bacofoil · 25/08/2010 11:35

boy

have known 2, both boys

never heard of a female Ellis though I think it works as a girl's name too

Original poster
DomesticG0ddess · 25/08/2010 11:33

Duelling, it is Ellis in Wales too. I know what you mean about the double LL, but it must not apply in certain spellings, eg Dillan, which is another (welsh) way of spelling Dylan.

OP posts:
ShadeofViolet · 25/08/2010 11:32

I know two and they are both boys.

I know an Ellise which is pronounced el-eee-s and she is a girl.

ProfessorLaytonIsMyLoveSlave · 25/08/2010 11:31

Ellis is a boy's name, IMO. It's a family name on both sides of DH's family and one we're considering as a middle name if DC3 is a DS2. I have heard of its being used for girls, though, but then I've heard of Ryan, Michael, James, Rory and Finlay being used for girls so who has any idea these days?

Original poster
DomesticG0ddess · 25/08/2010 11:31

It is definitely a boys name originally - it is a Welsh name, meaning benevolent, and often a Welsh surname. Other sources say it is Greek, coming from Elias.

With his surname it will definitely sound male - if I was having a DD, I would have to choose a clearcut feminine name.

mrsw, I do like Elliot, but I liked the Welsh connection of Ellis.

OP posts:
AxisofEvil · 25/08/2010 11:28

I know one toddler called Ellis - male and from a Welsh family

DuelingFanjo · 25/08/2010 11:26

because the double l, 'Ll', is a completely different sound in the Welsh language.