ELLEN
Ellen is a surname that can be found across the British Isles and has roots in England, Scotland and, through linguistic evolution, the Greek language.
In England the name originated as a patronymic of the medieval given name Ellen, which itself is a vernacular form of the name Helen. The personal name Helen derives from the Greek Helene, which scholars link to the word helane meaning torch or light; consequently the surname Ellen may be interpreted as symbolising brightness or illumination.
The first documentary occurrences of the name appear in the thirteenth century. Records include Walter Eleyn of Oxfordshire in 1279, Ralph Elene in Essex in 1314, Robert Elyn of Suffolk in 1327 and William Helyns in Worcestershire in 1332. A 1275 entry in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire records a Robert Helene during the reign of King Edward I, a monarch sometimes called “The Hammer of the Scots.” These early spellings illustrate the fluid orthography of the period.
Over time the surname developed a variety of forms, including Ellen, Elen, Ellin, Elin, Elleyne, Hellen, Helen and Hellin. Metronymic variants such as Ellens, Ellings, Ellins and Hellens also appear. A notable marital record is that of William Elen and Dorothy Morris, whose union was recorded at St. Dunstan’s in Stepney, London, on 16 April 1611.
The association of the given name Helena with sainthood—most notably St. Helena, mother of Constantine the Great and the reputed discoverer of the True Cross—contributed to the popularity of the name in medieval England. This ecclesiastical reverence helped cement the name’s use and subsequently its transformation into a hereditary surname.
Typical given names associated with the Ellen surname
Male
- Christopher
- David
- Eric
- James
- John
- Mark
- Michael
- Paul
- Peter
- Robert
- Stephen
- Thomas
Female
- Amanda
- Anne
- Elizabeth
- Gillian
- Laura
- Margaret
- Mary
- Rachael
- Sarah
- Susan
- Victoria
- Wendy
Similar and related surnames
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Ellen in...
Braille
⠑⠇⠇⠑⠝
Morse
..-...-...-.
Semaphore
There are approximately 787 people named Ellen in the UK. That makes it roughly the 8,891st most common surname in Britain. Around 12 in a million people in Britain are named Ellen.
Surname type: From given name or forename
Origin: English
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: England
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: English
Famous people named Ellen
- Mark Ellen - Television presenter and journalist
Names and descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia, and may contain errors. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every famous person with this name.