El at rank 1392 with 77 registrations is either a nickname frozen mid-call, a Stranger Things reference to Eleven (whose friends call her El), or a data artifact representing an incomplete entry. All three explanations are plausible and probably all true in different portions of those 77 records.
The Stranger Things Reading
Eleven — El — is one of the central characters of Netflix's Stranger Things, the telekinetic girl raised in a government lab who becomes the heart of the show's ensemble. Owners who named dogs El after the character are reaching for something specific: a dog with unusual abilities, unusual quietness, or an eerie intensity that the show's character projects. Belgian Malinois and quiet, focused breeds have a natural affinity. The name was heavily concentrated in registrations from 2017-2020, consistent with Stranger Things' peak cultural moment.
The Incomplete-Entry Problem
El is also a plausible truncation of Ella, Eleanor, Ellie, or Elsa — names that owners may have started typing before abbreviating or having the form auto-complete. At two characters, El sits in ambiguous territory between genuine name and data artifact. The full pet registry contains several similar minimal entries.
The Counter-Reading
For owners who genuinely want El as a standalone pet name, it's extremely short for practical use — one syllable, vowel-only, nearly impossible to project across distance. Ellie gives you the same sound with far better recall utility.