Given name & surname
Ela
“God is my oath”·“My God is bountiful”·“from a foreign land”
In Polish use, Ela is a short form of Elizabeth. “God is my oath” is the etymological interpretation given for Elisabeth, the same name in a different spelling. “My God is bountiful” is another recorded interpretation, but the two should be kept distinct rather than blended into one literal translation. Ela is a variant of Ella. One German interpretation is “from a foreign land.”
Original Hebrewאלא
Meaning & origin
What it means
In Polish use, Ela is a short form of Elizabeth. “God is my oath” is the etymological interpretation given for Elisabeth, the same name in a different spelling. “My God is bountiful” is another recorded interpretation, but the two should be kept distinct rather than blended into one literal translation. Ela is a variant of Ella. One German interpretation is “from a foreign land.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
In Polish use, Ela is a short form of Elizabeth. Elizabeth is the usual English spelling of Elisabeth. The related biblical forms connect it with the Hebrew name Elisheba, borne by Aaron’s wife. Ela is a variant of Ella. An origin associated with Ella is Germanic.
Explained through its name family
How it developed
In Slovak usage, Ela is a diminutive of Eleonóra. In Polish use, Ela is a short form of Elizabeth. The shared background comes through Elizabeth: English generally uses Elizabeth with a z, where many European languages retain Elisabeth with an s. Elisabeth is connected with Elisheba; its final element may have been reshaped through association with Hebrew shabbath, “sabbath.”
Combines direct and name-family evidence
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1887. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. In Polish use, Ela is a short form of Elizabeth. The history of Elizabeth gives this family its wider story. The New Testament Elisabeth is the mother of John the Baptist. English royal associations include Elizabeth I and, in the twentieth century, Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon and her daughter Elizabeth II. Elizabeth’s familiar forms developed along several paths, including Eliza, Beth, Bess, Betty, Libby and Lizzie.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
In the Bible
In the Bible, the name Ela appears in 1 Kings 4:18.
From biblical name research
Ela through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 2,846
- 0 boys · 2,846 girls
- Most popular year
- 2018
- 150 babies
- 2025
- 135
- #1,562 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −6%
- Steady
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 135 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 1,562 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 6.5% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 150 in 2018. In 2025, Florida had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (23). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 2,795 as a first name in 2020; 411 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Ela’s family of names
Ela is a short form of Elizabeth. Ela has a related form in Ella. In Slovak usage, Ela has a diminutive in Elka.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Ela has relatives in 3 languages.
5 related names in 3 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 6
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 3
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 4
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 19
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Ela
- Ela Bhattfounder of the Self-Employed Women's Association of India (SEWA)1933–2022
- Ela GandhiSouth African politicianborn 1940
- Ela WeberGerman actressborn 1966
- Ela of Salisbury, 3rd Countess of SalisburyEnglish heiress and suo jure Countess of Salisbury1190–1261
- Ela PitamIsraeli chess playerborn 1977
- Ela Aydin KonstantinidisGerman taekwondo practitioner (born 1999)
- Ela PerociChildren's writer, poet, journalist (1922–2001)
- Ela CollinsAmerican lawyer and politician (1786-1848)
- Ela LehotskáSlovak actressborn 1973
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Ela, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Elise
“my God is bountiful” · “God is my oath”
>99% girls
Ellie
“from a foreign land” · “God is my oath”
>99% girls
Zara
“princess”
>99% girls
Lizzy
“God is my oath” · “My God is bountiful”
>99% girls
Isabel
“my God is bountiful” · “a giving woran”
>99% girls
Sadie
“princess; lady” · “princess”
>99% girls
Els
“God is my oath” · “My God is bountiful”
1% boys · 99% girls
Elsy
“God is my oath” · “My God is bountiful”
>99% girls