The Isle of Ely in Cambridgeshire, England, is a traditional region around the city of Ely. It consists of 963 km². The Isle was an administrative county independent of Cambridgeshire between 1889 and 1965, until it was merged to form Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely. Its name is said to mean "island of eels", a reference to the creatures that were often caught in the local rivers for food.