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  • Ella
    Ella
    noun
    a female given name: from a Germanic word meaning “all.”
  • -ella
    -ella
    a suffix used as a formative in taxonomic names, especially genus names of bacteria.

Ella

1 American  
[el-uh] / ˈɛl ə /

noun

  1. a female given name: from a Germanic word meaning “all.”

-ella 2 American  

  1. a suffix used as a formative in taxonomic names, especially genus names of bacteria.

    chorella; pasteurella; salmonella.

Etymology

Origin of -ella

< New Latin, Latin, feminine of -ellus; see -elle

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

John’s wife left him and he lives unhappily with her elderly mother, Ella, who owns the property.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 1, 2026

It’s the day of the Netherfield Ball and Ella Bruccoleri is nervous.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 30, 2026

Despite playing for United, Ella is a City fan like her mum and grandad - her dad and brother support United though.

From BBC • Apr. 30, 2026

You can get your country heartbreak on with Ella Langley, Bailey Zimmerman and Cody Johnson, and then rock out with Counting Crows.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 24, 2026

“Why would Ella want to destroy the thing she created?”

From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.