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Origin: |
Eloise is the modern form of the Middle English Helewise. The spelling was heavily influenced by the French Éloïse, a later spelling of Helewise's Old French cognate, Heluïs, Héloïs(e). Helewise/Heluïs derives from the Old German Helewidis made up of hele "hale, sound, whole" and wīt "wide", or possibly witu "wood". |
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Usage: |
The Old French Héloïs was introduced to Britain by the Normans and was used in the vernacular forms Helewise, Helewis, Heilewis, Helewys and Elewys and was Latinised as Helevisa and Elewisia. It was widely used across the Middle Ages. In his top 50 rankings from the Poll Tax returns of 1377-81, George Redmonds puts Helwise at #46 which he classifies as "infrequent". It even became the source of the English surname Elwes, Elwess. The most legendary namesake comes from the famous romance of Héloïse and Abelard. Héloïse was a brilliant scholar and was renowned for her gift in reading and writing. She became a pupil of philosopher and teacher Peter Abelard and the two began a love affair. They married in secret, but when her uncle discovered their relationship, he has Abelard castrated. Abelard became a monk (later an abbot) and Eloise became a nun (later an abbess). Their correspondence later became famous, and Héloïse's letters took up an important place in French literary history and feminist representation. The form Eloisa was revived in the 18th century in Britain, most likely promoted by Alexander Pope's 1717 poem Eloisa to Abelard which was based on the famous medieval couple. Several authors in the 18th century later penned works entitled Abelard to Eloisa as a response to Pope's poem* which would have kept the story fresh in 18th-century parent's minds. This all came at a time when "romantic" Italianate names such as Cecilia, Olivia, Sophia, Louisa and Amelia became fashionable, of which Eloisa fit in nicely. By the 19th century, the medieval Heloise was marginally more common than other variants, but all were uncommon in use. Eloise became much more regularly used in the 1960s, and even more common in the 1970s. Records in the England and Wales Birth Index:
It managed to break into the top 100 five times — 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005. According to 2017 regional data, Eloise was most common in the East, South East and South West, ranking #88, #88 and #89 respectively, while it was #119 overall. In 2018, Eloise ranked #107 with 482 births in England and Wales. In Scotland, Eloise has mostly ranked below the top 200 since 2000, though it has seen an intermittent rise in the last few years, peaking at #169 with 27 births in 2013. In 2018, Eloise ranked #182 with 24 births in Scotland. In France, Eloise ranked in the top 100 from 1999 to 2010 and was replaced by Eloïse from 2011 to 2016. |
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Famous Bearers: |
History: * Eloise Hughes Smith (1893–1940), a survivor of the Titanic Disaster. Contemporary: * Eloise McGraw (1915–2000), American children's writer.* Eloise Jones (1917–2004), Canadian politician. * Eloise Klein Healy (born 1943), an American poet. * Eloise Broady (born 1957), American model, actress and philanthropist. * Lady Eloise Gordon-Lennox (born 2000), younger daughter of Charles Gordon-Lennox, 11th Duke of Richmond. * Countess Eloise of Oranje-Nassau, Jonkvrouwe van Amsberg (born 2002), the first child of Prince Constantijn and Princess Laurentien of the Netherlands. Literature and Other Media: * Eloise, a series of children's books written in the 1950s by Kay Thompson. |
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Variants: |
Elouise; Éloïse (French), Eloisa (Italian), Eloísa (Spanish) |
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Pronunciation: |
ehl-o-EEZ [key] |
| Possible diminutives: |
Elle, Ella, Ellie, Lou, Lola, Lise |
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Sibling Names: |
Felicity Arabella Beatrice Victoria Francesca Alexandra |
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Name Lists: |
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Thanks to Imogen for requesting this name.
