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Original poster

Ellis - which gender?

185 replies

Maize · 20/03/2010 19:09

I love the name Ellis for a boy.

My mum, who is a primary school teacher, says that it is a girls name and a boy called Ellis will be teased.

I know that Ellie is very popular for girls but is Ellis?

Thanks!

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differentID · 21/03/2010 17:46

Ellis is primarily a boys name in my eyes, but I have heard of it being used for a girl. She is known as Ellie.
I have also heard of Emmett being used for a girl, despite being mainly a boys name.

Tyson86 · 21/03/2010 17:42

My next door neighbours son is called Ellis, she has a daughter called Ella.
I think Ellis is def a boys name

cariboo · 21/03/2010 17:42

Ellis Island springs immediately to mind. Apart from that association, sounds v. much like Alice.

shushpenfold · 21/03/2010 17:40

Girl - I know one!

MrsTicklemouse · 21/03/2010 17:38

I know a female Ellis, but i do think it would work for a boy, a bit like there are girls called James

yellowcircle · 21/03/2010 17:26

Ellis is a surname.

If I (female) had been named Ellis, I'd shorten it to Ellie and avoid telling people my actual name. I'd be embarassed!

mathanxiety · 21/03/2010 17:23

Surname, primarily, but I also think of Ellis Marsalis Sr. and Jr., both jazz musicians, the father and brother of Wynton Marsalis.

MilkNoSugarPlease · 21/03/2010 17:15

Boy...love it for both but boy that leeeetle bit more!

ilovesprouts · 21/03/2010 16:51

the only ellis i know is a boy aged 7!

kerstina · 21/03/2010 16:34

Definitely a boys name my son is called Ellis unusual too only Ellis at his school rather than the thirty Jack s !
I would say Elise is the female equivalent.

Bucharest · 21/03/2010 16:31

Either, because it's a surname innit?

IMoveTheStars · 21/03/2010 16:07

boy.

BetsyBoop · 21/03/2010 15:49

boy's name, but then DS is called Ellis, so I would say that woudln't I!!

ALso two Ellis's at DD's nursery, both boys.

I've never heard of a female Ellis TBH

DairyleaAndPickleOnAStick · 21/03/2010 15:48

Meredith Grey's mum (from Grey's Anatomy) is called Ellis

CelticStarlight · 21/03/2010 15:10

Ellis Peters chose Ellis Peters as a male pseudonym.

thumbwitch · 21/03/2010 13:57

I think it's a bit of both really - I have a distant cousin who is called Ellis (girl) but if I didn't know about her, I would have thought it was a boy's name.

My DH has a name more associated now with girls, although it can be used for both boys and girls - he has coped ok with it and says he never really had any trouble with it when he was at school (but then he was pugnacious little bugger so I expect he put paid to any potential "trouble" quite quickly!)

menomena · 21/03/2010 13:49

I think Ellis is unisex but would probably "assume" it to be a boy if I had to assume one way or the other.

It's a nice name but the unisex aspect would put me off a bit and I would be tempted to choose a similar name that was more clearly masculine - what about Elliot or Elias? I love both.

magentadreamer · 21/03/2010 07:31

Dd who is 12 goes to school with a girl called Ellis. Up until then I thought it was a boys name.

sockmonkey · 21/03/2010 07:26

I thought it was a boys name.

purepurple · 21/03/2010 07:16

I have only known it for a boy.

weegiemum · 21/03/2010 06:34

The only Ellis I knwo is a girl and she makes it seem a really pretty feminine name.

GnocchiGnocchiWhosThere · 21/03/2010 06:30

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

shonaspurtle · 20/03/2010 22:31

Emily Bronte chose the name Ellis Bell because it sounded masculine. I wonder if Edith Pargeter (Ellis Peters) did it for similar reasons?

MrsvWoolf · 20/03/2010 22:22

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

PigeonPie · 20/03/2010 22:12

But Ellis Peters was a pseudonym!

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