# Ely (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/ely/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | English |
| Type | not recorded |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 13,130 |
| US rank (2010) | 2,745 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 23,515 people |
| Change since 2000 | +1.9% (12,884 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /iːli/, 2 syllables |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

Inherited from Middle English Ely, from Old English Ēlīġ, of uncertain origin.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Ely in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 88% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 6.7% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.3% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.7% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.6% |
| Two or more races | 1.7% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Ely in the United States.

## People named Ely

- Ron Ely, American actor and novelist
- Eugene Burton Ely, American aviation pioneer (1886–1911)
- Joe Ely, American singer-songwriter (1947–2025)
- Melvin Ely, American basketball player (born 1978)
- Shyra Ely, American basketball player (born 1983)
- Joseph B. Ely, American politician (1881-1956)

## Similar surnames

Eley, Ealy, Eli, El, Ell, Elo, Ewell, Elia, Elie, Ealey, Ehle.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.