ellen
/ˈɛl.ən/noun
ellen is spelled E-L-L-E-N: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 11 times per million words in written English, the 6,565th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data, counting Ellen, the name). As a noun, ellen means “Strength vouchsafed; comfort; grace” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in ellen?
| Letters | 5: E-L-L-E-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 11 times per million words; the 6,565th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is ellen?
Ellen appears 11 times per million words in written English, the 6,565th most frequent word form in the list. The list counts every capitalisation together, so this includes Ellen, the name.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce ellen?
- /ˈɛl.ən/
Ellen has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Forms of ellen
- elne
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does ellen mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
obsoleteZeal.
- 2
obsoleteStrength; courage.
- 3
Strength vouchsafed; comfort; grace.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does ellen come from?
From Middle English elne, ellen, from Old English ellen (“zeal, strength, power, vigor, valor, courage, fortitude, strife, contention”), from Proto-West Germanic *alljan, from Proto-Germanic *aljaną (“zeal, power, courage”). Cognate with Middle High German ellen (“strength, manhood”), Middle Low German ellen (“strength, power, courage, vigor, bravery”), Icelandic elja (“endurance, energy”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).