Ellery is an English surname that is usually traced back to the medieval name Hilary, from the Latin hilaris, "cheerful", though some sources derive it from an Old English place name meaning "island with elder trees". Mystery readers know it from the fictional detective Ellery Queen, but as a first name it is now mostly feminine. Ellery rose from number 3038 in 2000 to a peak of 1020 in 2014 and ranks 1208 in 2025.