Robert Fleischman of Miami Beach, FL posted as follows:

"My ggm's name was Ella. Is this a contraction? I think it was listed
on passenger lists as Elke. What is the origin of these names?"

The Given Names Data Base for Lithuania provides the following
information about this Yiddish name:

Yiddish: Ella, Elle
Yiddish nicknames: Elka, Elke, Ilka, Ilke
Origin: >from old German name Ella, Elle

European secular: Ellush, Illush

US names: Alice, Anna, Eileen, Elka, Ella, Ellen, Elsie, Emma

The US names were those adopted by female emigrants >from Lithuania to
the US.

Prof. G. L. Esterson, Ra'anana, Israel
jerry@...