 Together with the adjacent village of Kirk Ella, West Ella forms the civil parish of Kirk Ella and West Ella; and is within the Parliamentary constituency of Haltemprice and Howden.West Ella, with Cottingham, Willerby, Kirk Ella, Anlaby, and Anlaby Common and the town of Hessle was once part of a district of Haltemprice.The name has been interpreted to mean "Aelf(a)'s Western Woodland Clearing", and be Old English in origin; there is evidence of human activity in the area from the Mesolithic period, and later during the Iron Age and Roman Britain periods.