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A remarkably consistent name that feels
like a surname adoption, but has long been a unisex given name.
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Origin: |
Elliot is a medieval diminutive form of Elias which itself derives from Elijah. Elijah was major prophet in the Old Testament. His name in Hebrew was אֱלִיָּהוּ ('Eliyyahu) which translates as "God is Yahweh." When the Bible was translated into Greek and Latin, Elijah was rendered as Elias, and several early saints who bore the name were known commonly by this form. The Old French form of Elias was Elie, brought to Britain by the Normans, which soon adopted the diminutive +ot ending, creating Eliot. As a surname, Elliott also represents the absorption of native Old English names. Æðelgeat "noble Geat" and Æðelgyð "noble combat" became Adelid, Ailith, Aliet, Eliet, Ellyatt and then Eliot. The name Ælfweald "elf-ruler" became Elwald, Elwat, Eluat, Elioat and then Eliot. |
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Usage: |
Elliot has been in use as a given name in Britain since the 12th century, and has been in continual use ever since. The Scottish Clan Elliot were one of the most notable Border Reiver clans, operating between the Scottish-English border from at least the 13th century, and much of the surname's use was situated there. In the clan's case, there name was derived from Ælfweald (see above), as even up to the 15th century the name appeared as Elwald and Elwold. As a combination of Elias, Æðelgeat, Æðelgyð and Ælfweald, the name sparked a multitude of surname forms from Elwood to Illet, though Elliott is the most common surname form. The Scots even had an old rhyme to distinguish a few of the spellings: The double L and single T Elliot survived into the 15th century in small numbers and was continually used. There are a handful of examples. particularly in southern English counties, of Elliot in use as a feminine name in the 17th century. Most of the spellings include Eleth, Ilett and Ellet, suggesting they may be survivors of Æðelgyð. The name was became more regular after the 16th century, most likely as an adoption of the surname as a first name. Data from the Surname Atlas (click to enlarge)
Data from the 1881 census shows that, as a given name, Elliot (and the variant spellings Elliott, Eliot and Eliott) was in greater use in areas where there were higher concentrations of the surname, such as the Scottish-English border and in the southern English counties. Elliot continued with very consistent but moderate use into the 20th century garnering between 10-30 births per year, becoming more common in the 1970s, perhaps thanks to showings of American TV show The Untouchables (featuring principle character Eliot Ness) as re-runs on television. This corresponds to Dunkling's data for the number of boys registered with the names Elliot and Elliott in every 10,000 births in England and Wales:
Scottish birth data shows that, from 1974, Elliot (the most common spelling) was used consistently each year. Starting with 10 births in 1974 (#182), it had the same number ten years later in 1984 (#174), rising to 41 (#118) in 1994. It generally had between 20 and 50 births per year, but never managed to crack the top 100. In England and Wales, Elliot has been in the top 100 since 1996, with Elliott just behind fluctuating between the #85 to #130 mark. Elliot ranked #70 in 1996, #68 in 2001, #91 in 2007 and #75 in 2012. In 2013 the variant spellings ranked as follows: Elliot: #76 (829 births) |
| Famous Bearers: |
History: * Elliot Daingerfield (1859-1932), American artist.
* Elliott J. Clawson (1883-1942), American screenwriter. * Elliott Smith (1969–2003), American singer-songwriter. Contemporary: * Elliott Gould (b.1938), American actor.
* Elliot Cowan (b.1976), British actor. * Elliott Whitehouse (b. 1993), English footballer. * Elliot Dee (b.1994), Welsh rugby union player Literature and Other Media: * Elliott Taylor, a main (male) character in the film E T: the Extra-Terrestrial (1982).
* Elliot Reid, a (female) character in Scrubs (2001-2010). * Elliot Richards, the protagonist in the 2000 remake of the film Bedazzled. |
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Variants: |
Elliott, Eliott, Eliot, Elyott |
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Pronunciation: |
EL-ee-ot [key] |
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Possible diminutives: |
Lee, Eli, Leo, Otto |
| Sibling Names: | Layla Bethany Anna Lydia Willow Caitlin Jude Zachary Finlay Luke Reuben Oliver |
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Name Lists: |
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Thanks to Polly for requesting this post.
