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Ellwood

♂ Boy

Pronounced EL-wood /ˈɛl.wʊd/High

Meaning: Ellwood is a spelling of Elwood, an English place-name and surname meaning 'elder-tree wood' or 'old wood' (from Old English ellern, 'elder tree,' plus wudu, 'wood'). Used as a first name, it keeps that woodland-place sense.Medium

In 30 seconds: Ellwood is a vintage variant of Elwood, an English place-name meaning 'elder-tree wood' (said 'EL-wood'). It peaked around 1918.

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Origin MediumEnglish

MeaningEllwood is a spelling of Elwood, an English place-name and surname meaning 'elder-tree wood' or 'old wood' (from Old English ellern, 'elder tree,' plus wudu, 'wood'). Used as a first name, it keeps that woodland-place sense.

U.S. rank (2021)#10020 ↗ Rising

2021 U.S. births7 boys (0.00% of U.S. boys)

Peak year1918

Total births (all-time)≈ 1,979

Popularity in the U.S. · SSA data

U.S. births per year (Social Security Administration, 1880–present). Pink marker = peak year.

SSA data updated May 2026. How we source & verify this data.

History & Origin

Ellwood is a variant of Elwood, an English place-name and surname built from ellern, 'elder tree,' and wudu, 'wood.' Such -wood names — Sherwood, Norwood, Elwood — carried a leafy, settled feel and were adopted as given names in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Ellwood was most common in the early nineteen-hundreds, peaking around 1918, and turns up only rarely in later decades. A boy named Ellwood at the peak would be about a century old today. It is firmly antique and has not been revived.

Did you know? Ellwood is a woodland place-name at heart, from the Old English word for the elder tree — one of many nature-and-place surnames that American parents wore as first names a century ago.

Overall data confidence 62%

References — Ellwood — variant of Elwood; Old English 'elder-tree wood'

Variations

ElwoodElwoode

Nicknames

ElWoody

Famous Bearers

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If you like Ellwood…

Elwood— the standard spelling and parent of Ellwood

Sherwood— a like -wood place-name used as a vintage first name

Ellsworth— another El- vintage surname-name of the era

Norwood— a same-style -wood name of the same generation

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Frequently Asked

What does the name Ellwood mean?

Ellwood is a variant of Elwood, an English place-name meaning 'elder-tree wood' or 'old wood.'

How do you pronounce Ellwood?

It's said EL-wood /ˈɛl.wʊd/ — two syllables, stress on the first.

Is Ellwood a boy or girl name?

Ellwood is used as a boy's name.

How popular is Ellwood?

Ellwood was an uncommon vintage name that peaked in the nineteen-teens and is rare today.