Ellie

Ellie used to be a parenthetical — what people called Eleanor or Ellen or Elizabeth when they were being affectionate. Now it stands on its own, one of those nicknames that went freelance and found it liked the work. Its roots trace back through Eleanor (Old French, bright shining one) and Ellen (a variant of Helen, meaning torch), so there's light at the bottom of it somewhere. Ellie has climbed into the American top thirty in recent years, buoyed by parents who want the warmth of a vintage name with the ease of a modern one. Two soft syllables, open and friendly. Small, sunlit, and entirely its own.