My name, Ellie, has always been a source of mystery for me. The confusion stemmed from the intrigue of having a nickname as a full, complete name. When I have asked my parents in the past why they chose the name, they have always told me that they simply “liked it”. When I asked my parents what other names they were picking from, they told me that Ellie was the only name they ever considered for me. 

Ellie itself has been used as a nickname for several names in the past: Helen, Eleanor, Ellen, Eliana, etc. (Babycentre). For a long time, it was mostly used as a shortened version of something more substantial. Hardly any babies were named Ellie as their legal name. However, for the last two decades, it has begun to rise in popularity as a name, not a nickname (The United States Social Security Administration).

For a lot of my childhood, I always felt special for being “just Ellie”. In retrospect, it is interesting to be so proud of a name that may be viewed as incomplete. I myself am small in stature and because of this I have always felt like an insignificant presence. I’ve dreamed of being tall and being able to take up space and command attention. In a way, my name being a nickname mimics this feeling of being short of something more.

Because my name is not fully a name, I looked into the meaning of the name Helen, a name that the nickname Ellie may have originated from. The name Helen has Greek origins, possessing the meanings of torch or light (Behind the Name). I like to see this as an indicator that those who possess the name also possess the power to be a shining light for other people. Even though this meaning applies to a name entirely different from mine, I will choose to adopt it as my own because my name means something. My name and stature may be short but those have no indicator of how much I bring to the table. I want the name Ellie to mean something to the people around me on account of what I have done for them. That is what the name Ellie can mean. 

Works Cited

“Baby Name Details.” BabyCentre UK, 2023,  www.babycentre.co.uk/babyname/1025761/ellie. Accessed 18 Sept. 2023.

Campbell, Mike. “Meaning, Origin and History of the Name Helen.” Behind the Name, 2023, www.behindthename.com/name/helen. Accessed 21 Sept. 2023.

The United States Social Security Administration, https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/popularity_increase.html. Accessed 18 Sept. 2023.