Ela (or Elâ) is a feminine given name of Turkish origin meaning "hazel".
Ela is also an Aramaic feminine given name. It comes from the Aramaic word Elah meaning "oak". It is a nickname for Elen, Eliška, Elizabeth, Elektra, Angela or Eleanor.
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Etymology
Turkish
Ela originates from Ottoman Turkish الا (elâ), meaning "of hazel color", which is derived from the Proto-Turkic *āla, meaning "variegated", "multicolored" or "ambiguous color". It is a variant of Turkish ala. It is also co-origin with the Proto-Turkic *āl, meaning "red".
In contemporary Turkish, ela is also used to refer to hazel eyes.
Popularity
In Turkey, the name was ranked the 17th most commonly given name to baby girls between 2020 and 2021.
Homonyms
The name Ela is often falsely linked to the Persian word اعلی (a'lā), which itself is borrowed from the Arabic أعلى (ʔaʕlā), meaning "elevation" or "superior". The Turkish variant of this Arabic word would be âlâ or Ala as a name, and is unrelated to the Turkish word ala / ela.
Given name
Ela of Salisbury, 3rd Countess of Salisbury (1187–1261), English noblewoman
Ela Bhatt (1933–2022), Indian co-operative organiser and activist
Ela Chapin, American politician from Vermont
Ela Collins (1786–1848), American lawyer and politician
Ela Darling (born 1986), American pornographic actress and businesswoman
Ela Longespee (1244–1276), English heiress
Ela Gandhi (born 1940), South African politician and activist
Ela Lehotská (born 1973), Slovak actress
Ela Naz Özdemir (born 2006), Turkish swimmer
Ela Q. May, child actress of the Edwardian era
Ela Orleans (born 1971), Polish composer
Ela Peroci (1922–2001), Slovene writer
Ela Pitam (born 1977), Israeli chess grandmaster
Ela Stein-Weissberger (1930–2018), Czech holocaust survivor
Ela Velden (born 1972), Mexican actress and model
Ela To'omaga-Kaikilekofe (born 1969), New Zealand visual artist and arts administrator
Ela Weber (born 1966), German model, showgirl and actress