Eliot

Surname origin

Scotland

The origin of the Scottish surname is obscure, due to much of the genealogy of the Eliott clan being burnt in the destruction of the castle at Stobs in 1712. The clan society usually accepts that the name originated from the town and river Elliot in Angus, Scotland. More likely sources claim that the Scottish surnames (Eliott, Elliot) originate from the Ellot Scottish border-clan, from a transformation of the name Elwold. It is known that Ellot of Redheugh was living in the early 1400s. In 1426 John Elwalde of Teviotdale is recorded. In 1476, Robert Ellot of Redheugh appears as the tenth chief of the clan. Whatever their true origin, the Scottish Elliotts became notorious border reivers – cattle thieves – in the Scottish-English border area and a thorn in the side of both governments.

The Scottish name origin is discussed by Keith Elliot Hunter on the Elliot Clan website where he argues for a Breton origin to the name and the first chief being William d'Alyth. Under that name, the d'Alyths played a key role in the Scottish Wars of Independence. However, Mark Elliot presents a well-argued case that there is no connection between the Elliot river and town with the clan and believes the origins are in the first name of Elwald, which appears in Northumberland in the eighth-century king, Elwald I. The name has Anglo-Saxon origins and appears alongside Armstrong in Northumbrian records dating from 1165. The first chief is claimed to be Robert Elwold (1305–67), who came from York, but migrated to the area around Hermitage Castle Robert Elwold of Redheuch is granted lands around Redheuch and Larriston in the 1484 Sasine deed Robert, 13th clan chief, who was killed at the Battle of Flodden is recorded with the surname 'Elwold'.

The original Anglo-Saxon surnames from Northumbria like Aelwold, Ellwald, Elaund, Elwaird, Elwods, Alwods, Elyards, Halwads seem to have mixed together eventually as Ellot. Sir Arthur and the Dowager Lady Eliott maintained that the family were originally known as Ellots. Lady Elliot in The Elliots: The Story of a Border Clan says: "Around 1650 someone added an 'I' to our name to make it Elliot, which was without a doubt unfortunate as it confuses the clan with a well-known English Norman family called Eliot who settled in West England". That would exclude the idea that the Cornish Eliots set the clan up a few centuries earlier, but it is said that this was some means of expressing solidarity with John Eliot, who was regularly imprisoned by Charles I until his death in 1632.

A Thomas Elyot is recorded in West Lothian, dying in 1505.

France

It has been argued by Keith Elliott Hunter that the origins of the St. Germans Eliot family were among the Bretons accompanying William the Conqueror. The Breton origin of Eliot and Elliot is indicated by these names being in significant clusters in Morbihan, southern Brittany. One variant in Scotland was Dalliot (or, more likely, d'Alliot) and a variation from the Breton original name Ellegouet, from which the Scots variant Elligott is derived, is to be found in clusters in Finistère. Elot is also a Breton name variant.

The name Eliot appears in Normandy in 1195 and a son of Anschar Elyot in 1198. Large surviving clusters of Eliots in Seine Maritime (Normandy). today could be due to later grants of land. The Alliots, found in southern Brittany and the Loire-Atlantique, also had lands in Aisne, north-east of Paris.

England

Soon after victory at the Battle of Hastings Elliots spread out all across England.

In 1069, the Breton Count Brien (Brian of Brittany) of Penthievre (on the Quiberon peninsula in the Departement of Morbihan), a member of the Counts and dukes of Penthièvre, who was despatched to the West Country to deal with Anglo-Saxon rebels and included Elliots among his troops. It is unknown exactly when the Eliots settled in Devon, but it is estimated they prospered there for 8 to 10 generations before moving to Cornwall, where they are thought to be the origin of the Eliot family of Cornwall at Port Eliot/St. Germans. The family claims descent from a Norman knight, Sir William de Aliot. The earliest record is of a William Elyot, who appears in the Somerset Assizes rolls in 1257 and Walter Elyot in Devon in 1433.

Other Eliots were sent later to Monmouthshire in South Wales

It is possible that Elliots were among the Bretons, who settled in Yorkshire as vassals of the 12th century Earl of Richmond, Alan of Penthièvre, also a member of the family of the Counts and dukes of Penthièvre

It appears that another part of the family went to Cambridgeshire. The first record of the name relates to Henry Elyot at the Priory of St Mary and St. Radegund in Cambridge in about 1180. An Elyat (or Elyot) is in Bury St. Edmunds in 1188. By 1220, Elyot is well-established in Cambridge in Great St Andrew's Parish where a William Elyot is listed. Another William Eliot appears in about 1270 in the same parish. Elyot ad Cap' Ville is listed in Cambridgeshire in 1273.)

The surname spreads into East Anglia by the early 14th century. Thomas Elyott is recorded as the rector of Dickleburgh, Norfolk, in 1393.

The first reference to the surname in Essex is RICHARDI Elyotte in 1433, who may be the RYC Elyett, who signed an indenture in about 1400.

The first record of the surname reaching London is early in the 14th century. Johanne Eliot appears in the 1319 Portsoken (near Aldgate) Subsidy Roll of 1319 with a reference to him being found in 1311 under John Elyot. In the Museum of London is "a bronze jug with three feet and three bands of lettering around the neck and body. The neck is straight with a pointed spout. The body is fat and bulbous. Dated c.1400, this fine bronze jug is inscribed: "+THOMAS:E[L]YOT/ +HI RECOMAND ME TO EU/ +WYLLEAM:ELYOT" ".

Northern Ireland

Robert Bell in The Book of Scots-Irish Family Names adds: "For double L and double T, / the Scots should look across the sea!" He pointed out that 71 of 76 births of children by that name in Ireland in 1890 spelt it "Elliott". Elliot(t)s emigrated or were sent to north Ireland in the early 17th century after the Border area was pacified, following the union of the English and Scottish crowns in 1603. Many settled in county Fermanagh.

Portugal

An English Eliot family came to Portugal led by Gilbert Eliot, who accompanied the then 1st Earl of Cambridge to aid King Ferdinand I of Portugal during the Fernandine Wars, during the Third Fernandine War of 1381 and 1382. He married Guterres Fernandes, daughter of the nobleman Fernão Guterres Telo, castillian, one of the twenty-eight, who were expelled from Portugal in compliance with the Peace of Santarém of 24 March 1373, between Portuguese King Ferdinand I and Henry II. Gilbert Eliot established himself at Pernes in Santarém, Portugal, and aged 28 years old, joined the army of King John I of Portugal, whom he accompanied in the Portuguese conquest of Ceuta on 21 August 1415, where he remained and served with a good reputation. He married Teresa de Vasconcelos, daughter of Joane Mendes de Vasconcelos, Lord of Alvarenga and of the Land of Parada< Their son, Octávio Eliot, was the father of Fernão Liote. Gilbert Eliot's great-great-great-great-grandson, Francisco Liote, Knight of the Order of Christ, was appointed Nobleman of the Royal Household, General of the Province of the Alentejo and Great Captain by King Philip III of Portugal. This not only gave Francisco Liote the rank of a nobleman, but for his service at Tangier, he was granted new arms by a Letter of 22 July 1638. These arms refer to is killing a lion that had attacked him at the city. Francisco Liote married Isabel Álvares Banha, of whom he left children continuing this variation of the Elliot surname, usually written as Leote, although it changed over time to the English form of Liote. The Liote name went from Pernes to Tangier and later returned to the Iberian Peninsula, settling at the province of Algarve, Kingdom of the Algarve. The arms granted to Francisco Liote are: vert, an armed arm argent, moving from the left flank and with the hand carnation, holding by the ear a lion's head or, torn off and bloody. Crest: the arm and the head of the shield. The family also used the forms Liotte and Leotte.

DNA

The Elliot Clan Society has an extensive list of DNA results which point to native Celtic origins for the clan. However, the three contributions from Sussex suggest both a native origin in the area and the unusual J haplotype from southern Europe. There are also suggestions of French and Breton DNA from the Surrey Elliotts.

Surname myths

Some sources claim it may be derived from a French form of Elias, which is itself derived from the biblical name "Elijah".

It is claimed that the surname originated in the early 13th century as "Eliot", as there is supposed to be a reference to "Geoffrey Eliot", Abbot of Hyde, in documents linked to the creation of Magna Carta. However, the Abbot of Hyde Abbey (near Winchester in Hampshire), who signed the 1224 version was Abbot Aston and the 1297 version confirmed by Edward I mentions the Abbot of Hyde as a witness, but does not name him.

There are also records in the Domesday Book of the name spelled "Ailiet", thought to originate from an Old English name "Æþelgeat" (meaning "noble gate") and leading to the English and Scottish given name spelled "Elyat".

Notable bearers of the surname

Among the many famous people with this name are the authors T. S. Eliot and George Eliot (pseudonym of Mary Ann Evans).

Eliot

Eliot (surname)

Lord Eliot or Baron Eliot, a title of the Earl of St Germans

Eliot family (America), influential family in the United States

Elliott

Elliott (surname)

Eliott

Eliott (surname)

Lord Eliott, a title of the Eliott baronets Baronets of Stobs

Elliot

Elliot (surname)

Elyot

Kevin Elyot (1951–2014), British playwright, screenwriter and actor

Thomas Elyot (1490–1546), British diplomat and scholar

Given name

Eliot

Eliot Bliss (1903–1990), Jamaican-born English novelist and poet

Eliot A. Cohen (born 1956), American political scientist

Eliot Engel, US Representative for New York's 16th congressional district

Eliot Ness (1903–1957), American prohibition agent

Eliot Salt, English actress, theatre maker, and writer

Eliot Spitzer, American politician

Eliot Sumner (born 1990), English singer, songwriter and actor

Eliot Teltscher (born 1959), American professional tennis player

Eliot Vassamillet (born 2000), represented Belgium at the Eurovision Song Contest 2019

Eliott

Eliott Crestan (born 1999), Belgian runner

Eliott Mounoud (born 1995), Swiss beach soccer player

Eliott Pierre (born 2001), French para-cyclist

Eliott Rodriguez (born 1956), Cuban-American television journalist

Eliott Roudil (born 1996), France rugby union player

Eliott Sorin (born 1993), French footballer

Elliot

Elliot Abravanel, American physician and diet counselor

Elliot Anderson (politician), American politician and a Democratic member of the Nevada Assembly

Elliot Aronson, American psychologist

Elliot Balchin, actor in various British television series

Elliot Benchetrit, French tennis player

Elliot Benyon, English footballer

Elliot Bigelow, American right fielder in Major League Baseball

Elliot Brown, several people

Elliot Brown (actor), English actor

Elliott R. Brown, American physicist

Elliott Browne (cricketer), English cricketer

Elliott Browne (gymnast), British gymnast

Elliot Bunney, Scottish athlete

Elliot Cadeau (born 2004), American-Swedish basketball player

Elliot Caplin (1913–2000), American comic strip writer

Elliot Chorley, Canadian ice hockey right winger

Elliot E. Cohen (1899–1959), American founder-editor of Commentary Magazine

Elliot Cowan, English actor

Elliott

Elliott Abrams, American politician

Elliott Arkin, American artist

Elliott Arnold, American writer

Elliott Avent, American baseball coach

Elliott Belgrave (born 1931), Barbadian lawyer and High Court Judge, governor-general of Barbados 2012–2017

Elliott Bennett, English footballer

Elliott Broidy, American businessman

Elliott Carter, American composer

Elliott Chaze, American writer

Elliott J. Clawson (1883–1942), American screenwriter

Elliott Colla, American scholar of the Middle East

Elliott C. Cowdin, American military pilot

Elliott Cutler, American surgeon

Elliott Daingerfield (1859–1932), American artist

Elliott Dexter, American actor

Elliott Earls, American graphic designer and artist

Elliott Erwitt (1928–2023), French-American advertising and documentary photographer

Elliott Ferrous-Martin Platt (born 2004), known as ElyOtto, Canadian musician

Elliott Fry (born 1994), American football player

Elliotte

Elliotte Friedman (born 1970), Canadian sports journalist

Elliotte Rusty Harold (born 1960), American computer scientist, lecturer and author

Fictional characters

Eliot, a character in the Dead or Alive video game series

Eliot Rosewater, in the Kurt Vonnegut novel, God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater

Eliot Spencer, from Leverage (American TV series)

Eliot Waugh, main character in The Magicians (Grossman novel) by Lev Grossman

Elliot, character in Wild Rose (2018 film)

Elliot Alderson, the main lead character in the thriller television series Mr. Robot

Elliot Bevan, a character in the British soap opera Hollyoaks

Elliot Blair, a character in the film Dante's Peak

Elliot Blitzer, character in the film True Romance

Elliot Builder, the promotional mascot for Roblox game Work At A Pizza Place

Elliot Carlin, a character in the American sitcom The Bob Newhart Show

Elliot Carver, antagonist in the film Tomorrow Never Dies

Elliot Edwards, one of two protagonists in the Sega Saturn video game Nights into Dreams

Elliot Grey, a character in the Fifty Shades novels and the subsequent Fifty Shades films

Elliot Gordon, character in the webcomic Questionable Content