Entry № 0745 · French origin

Elle Elle — Meaning, Origin & Baby Name Popularity

/ ELL /
Gender
Girl
Origin
French
Meaning
"She / the (Elle Fanning; Elle Macpherson; the French magazine)"
Syllables
1
Rank · US 2025
№ 200
First recorded
Medieval (French)

A name that means "she / the (elle fanning; elle macpherson; the french magazine)".

Elle is the French feminine third-person pronoun ("she, her") — also the definite article in some Romance dialects. **Made famous by the French weekly *Elle* magazine, founded in 1945 by Hélène Lazareff in liberated Paris; it became the world's best-selling fashion magazine with editions in 46 countries**. **Elle Fanning (born 1998)** — **American actress; youngest-ever juror at the Cannes Film Festival in 2019 at age 21; star of *Maleficent* (2014), *The Neon Demon* (2016), *Mary Shelley* (2017), and Hulu's *The Great* (2020-2023, Golden Globe nominations)**. **Elle Macpherson (born 1964)** — Australian supermodel nicknamed "The Body"; founded Elle Macpherson Intimates and WelleCo wellness. **Elle King (born 1989)** — American singer; *Ex's & Oh's* (2014). **A top-200 US baby name since 2018**. **"Elle" is also Reese Witherspoon's character in *Legally Blonde* (Elle Woods, 2001)**.

Featured throughout 1940s-2020s global fashion media.

She / the. Elle magazine sells in 46 countries; Elle Fanning was the youngest Cannes juror ever at 21.

The name in its native script.

Elle
Transliteration
Elle
Pronunciation
/ ɛl /
Root
Grammatical form

Where Elle stands.

Current rank · 2025
№ 200 in the U.S.
All-time peak
№ 175 in 2020
Babies named Elle · last year
1,500 in the U.S.
First entered SSA top-1000
1995
Rank, 1995–2025 Lower = more popular
№25 №75 №150 №250 1995 2005 2015 2020 2025 PEAK · #175 NOW · #200

Elles before her.

Real people
Elle Fanning
American actress.
born 1998
Elle Macpherson
Australian supermodel.
born 1964
Elle King
American singer.
born 1989
In fiction
Elle Woods
Legally Blonde.
2001

Names connected to Elle.

The number behind Elle.

7

The Seeker

Elle reduces to seven — the number of French magazine.

Why families chose this name.

"French she. Four letters. Elle."
Sophie · Mother of one · Paris