Ella vs Tove
Ella and Tovecompared on official birth-registration statistics and Namewise's recorded data. This page states what each name's record shows — it never picks a winner or scores one name against the other.
Head to head
Ranks are only compared within one published list and one year. Two ranks from different years, from a boys' and a girls' list, or from different registrars are not comparable, so they are not placed side by side.
Norway · Girls
In 2025, Ella was ranked #4 and Tove #489 among girls in Norway.
England and Wales · Girls
In 2024, Ella was ranked #39 and Tove #4843 among girls in England and Wales.
Ella and Tove over time
Ella and Tove appear together in 2 published lists, across 71 years of shared records. Neither was ahead in more lists than the other.
The order between them changed and held in one of those lists — a change in that published list, never a claim that one name displaced the other.
Each reached its own highest recorded position first in 1 of the lists they share.
Counted list by list. Two names in the same published list are measured on the same scale in the same year, so those comparisons are real — but positions from different lists are not, so nothing here is combined into an overall standing.
How this pair is related
The relationship kinds these two qualify for, each under its own stated rule. Every one is drawn from a list they both appear in.
- Longest-running competitions
Ella and Tove were both ranked in Norway · Girls for 60 years, from 1945 to 2025, ending at #4 and #489.
- Peaked in the same years
Both reached their highest recorded position in England and Wales · Girls within 2 years — Ella #9 in 2016, Tove #2674 in 2018.
List by list
Norway · Girls60 shared years, 1945–2025
Ella held the stronger position in 18 of those years, Tove in 42.
Highest recorded here: Ella #3 in 2023, Tove #6 in 1957.
The order changed in 1994: Ella moved ahead. In 1993 they stood at #351 and #275; by 1994 that had become #269 and #347.
Most recent shared year, 2025: Ella #4, Tove #489.
England and Wales · Girls11 shared years, 2001–2024
Ella held the stronger position in 11 of those years, Tove in 0.
Highest recorded here: Ella #9 in 2016, Tove #2674 in 2018.
The order between them never changed and held in this list.
Most recent shared year, 2024: Ella #39, Tove #4843.
Two names moving past each other in a ranking is a fact about the ranking. Namewise does not claim one name displaced the other, that families chose between them, or that either influenced the other — none of that is in this data.
Side by side
| Field | Ella | Tove |
|---|---|---|
| Record type | Editorially researched profile | Official statistical record (evidence-only) |
| Gender usage | female | female |
| Meaning | A diminutive of Eleanor, Ellen and other names beginning with 'El-', also used as a short form of names ending in '-ella'. Widely used across Scandinavian and Germanic languages as well as English. | Not yet recorded |
| Origin | Germanic, diminutive form | Not yet recorded |
| Pronunciation | /ˈɛl.ə/ | |
| Syllables | 2 | 2 |
| Common variants / nicknames | Not yet recorded | Not yet recorded |
| Recorded regional usage | AU-NSW, GB-ENW, GB-NIR, GB-SCT, IE, NO, NZ | GB-ENW, NO |
| Most recent popularity observation | Norway · Girls #4 (2025) | Norway · Girls #489 (2025) |
| Pronunciation clarity (demonstration score) | 90/100 | Not yet recorded |
| Spelling simplicity (demonstration score) | 95/100 | 95/100 |
| International familiarity (demonstration score) | 100/100 | 60/100 |
| Data Confidence | medium | medium |
What the data shows
- Ella has a recorded origin (Germanic, diminutive form); Tove does not have one recorded yet.
- Ella and Tove both have 2 syllables.
- A meaning is recorded for Ella; Tove doesn't have one written yet.
- Both names have recorded usage in GB-ENW, NO.
How each name got here
Ella
Popularity journey
First recorded1945
First recorded at #137 among girls in Norway in 1945 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Norway · Girls
Highest recorded1993–2023
Highest recorded position: #1 among girls in New Zealand, in 2007 (recorded 1993–2023).
New Zealand · Girls
Most recent2025
Most recently recorded at #11 among girls in New South Wales, Australia, in 2025.
New South Wales, Australia · Girls
Tove
Popularity journey
First recorded1945
First recorded at #19 among girls in Norway in 1945 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Norway · Girls
Highest recorded1945–2025
Highest recorded position: #6 among girls in Norway, in 1957 (recorded 1945–2025).
Norway · Girls
Most recent2025
Most recently recorded at #489 among girls in Norway, in 2025.
Norway · Girls