Gender:

Female

Meaning:

Depending on what name it is derived from. Examples include the following:

Eleonor - “shining light” (in Occitan);
Ella - “goddess” (in Hebrew), “beautiful” (in Greek);
Elizabeth - “pledged to God” (in Hebrew);
Eliana - "my God has answered" (in Hebrew).

Etymology:

It is a diminutive of the English names that start the prefix El- (e.g. Eleanor, Elissa, Elizabeth, Eliana).

Variants in different languages:

Czech: Lenka
Finnish, Italian, Swedish: Elsa
German: Elli, Elsa, Else
Lithuanian: Elzė
Polish: Ela

Trivia:

The alternative spelling of this name is “Elly”.

Name days:

Croatia
22nd June: Lenka

Czech Republic
21st February: Lenka

Estonia
19th November: Elsa

Finland
14th October: Elsa

Poland
5th  October, 19th November, 18th July, 8th June: Ela (as a definitive of Elżbieta)

Sweden
30th October: Elsa

USA
19th November: Ellie

Famous people:

Ellie Brush (born 1988), Australian footballer
Ellie Daniel (born 1950), American swimmer
Ellie Greenwood (born 1979), British runner
Ellie Harrison (born 1979), British artist
Ellie Hill (born 1975), American politician
Ellie Krieger (born 1965), American TV host
Ellie Lambeti (1926 - 1983), Greek actress
Elly Ameling (born 1933), Dutch singer

Additional information:

In astrology, the name is connected with two colors (red, violet) and two stones (ruby and diamond). According to numerology this name is borne by calm, trustworthy, well-organized, reliable, homely, and dutiful people.

Popularity of the name:

England: 43rd in 2014
Ireland1: 19th in 2014
New Zealand: 37th in 2015
Scotland: 14th in 2015
Sweden: 23rd in 2015
USA: 47th in 2015