Last name: Ellis

This ancient surname of many spellings, is a "crusader" import into Europe from the Holy Land. Recorded as Elliss, Elix, Ellice, Eles, Elias, Heelis, and many other forms, it derives from the Greek "Elias", itself from the Hebrew "Eliyahu", and meaning "Jehovah is God". The name became popular among Christians in the Middle Ages partly because of its adoption by various early saints and martyrs including a 7th Century Bishop of Syracuse, but mainly as a reult of soldiers and pilgrims from the 11th and 12th century crusades. These people on their return home, often christened their children with the ancient names of the Old Testament in memory of the father's efforts to free the Holy Land from the Saracens. The fact that there were twelve such expeditions and all were unsuccessful, does not appear to have dimmed their enthusiasm.The earliest of all hereditary surnames and their recording, was in England, and it is here that we find the first examples of the surname. These include in the year 1202, William Elis in the charters relating to the Danelaw of the county of Lincolnshire, and Robert Elys or Helys, who was listed in the Calendar of Documents for the county of Essex, in 1250. One of the first settlers in the New England colonies was Richard Ellis, aged 29 yrs., who left London on the ship "Bonaventure", bound for Virginia in January 1634. The first recorded spelling of the family name anywhere in the world, is believed to be that of William Elyas, which was dated 1200, in the tax returns for the county of Yorkshire. This was during the reign of King John of England , 1199 - 1216. Throughout the centuries surnames in every country have continued to "develop", often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

Visitor Comments

Carley Ellis
haha thats soo cool :D

mike
Also comes from the Welsh feminine name Elliadd, which would have become the surname of the children under Welsh naming convention

mo
its not welsh at all!!! it is either old english a.k.a anglo-saxon scandinavian or greek.

yo-yo
Actually, it is welsh. My grandfather was full blood or majority...welsh and went by the last name of Ellis. Im sure the name relates to many ethnics.

Annasia Ellis
i am an Ellis this is interesting but only to a certain extent

birch
i am looking for frederick william ellis who in the 50's was married to rosalie olive addison. if anyone knows of them please email Jackybirch01803@aol.com

jacky birch
Bit more info... they lived at 68. clinton road Stepney London e3 4qu

mae
and cornish - my father's people left cornwall in the mid 19th century

Alan Ellis
Yes, my family come from the West of Cornwall (St Ives, St Just, Penzance area) and when I was at school in St Just, there were 6 other kids with the surname 'Ellis' in my class. So very common in the West of Cornwall. I have also come large numbers in Wales (Gwynned) and South-East Ireland.

katrina
it is greek and spelt ellis

Rob
It also means in old Welsh "The kind one", it was the name of two Kings of Powys, Wales. And yes there are origins to the Greeks, but also biblical connections. By the way "Mo" the Celts were living in Britain long before the Anglo-Saxons. Look up the history as the celtic language pre-dated English by a long stretch, but not the Greeks admittedly! Alan Ellis look into it the history of the celts to learn more about your family history, and you may have connections in Brittanny I would imagine. Lovely to know there are so many "kind ones" out there!

pauline
i am related to ellis from fife in scotland. from the glenfarg area. I have looked into the family tree and the spelling Ellis changes from Elice, Elis amongst others.still looking