You know what? Elly May is a very cute name.
And so what if people think of Beverly Hillbillies.
First of all, Elly Mae I believe it was spelled, was gorgeous and she had a love for animals.
That's not so bad.
Let's see. I know a Montana. (Girl, after Joe Montana).
I know an Indiana Jones. (Girl, No joke!)
I also know people who were so in love with the song Billie Jean and dad's name was Billie, that they were going to name their kid Billie Jean or Billy Gene regardless of the sex.
The one thing about names is that you can always find someone to put them down or have a serious dislike or make fun.
A person should name their baby what they want. Elly May is not that weird in the scheme of things when you consider my kids have gone to school with kids named "Wind", "Cedar", "Five", "Seven", "Rainbow", "Sunshine", "Yetti"....
Any single name can be made fun of if people try hard enough.
I think your friend should do what she wants.
Just my opinion.