Etymology & Historical Origin of the Baby Name Elliot

Elliot is the transferred use of an English surname originating from a Norman French masculine personal name, a medieval diminutive of Elie which was the old French name for Elias. Elias, in turn, was the Greek equivalent to the Hebrew Elijah (Elias was more commonly used throughout Europe in the Middle Ages). Elijah comes from the Bible; specifically he appears in the first and second Book of Kings. He was an important Israelite prophet in the 9th century B.C. whose purpose was to call Israelites back to the worship of one God (Yahweh) and away from the pagan cults which were gaining popularity at the time. Elijah was called upon by God himself. Fittingly, the name Elijah comes from the Hebrew meaning “Yahweh is God” or “Jehovah is Lord.” He is thought to have played an important role in maintaining the Jewish religion by recognizing just one God. In 2 Kings 2:11, Elijah is taken up to the heavens by a chariot of fire and seen no more. According to Jewish tradition, Elijah is still roaming the earth and will appear when it comes time to announce the Messiah. In Christian tradition, this is probably why they so closely associate John the Baptist (who announced the arrival of Jesus) with Elijah.

All About the Baby Name – Elliot

Personality

OF THE GIRL NAME ELLIOT

The number one personality is a leader - strong and competitive. They are willing to initiate action and take risks. One personalities work hard toward their endeavors and have the ability to apply their creative and innovative thinking skills with strong determination. They believe in their ability to succeed and are too stubborn to be hindered by obstacles. Ones meet obstacles head-on with such mental vigor and energy that you better step aside. They resent taking orders, so don't try telling them what to do either. This is an intensely active personality, but they are also known as starters rather than finishers. They have a propensity to become bored and will move quickly to the next project if not properly challenged.  They are the ones to think up and put into action new and brilliant ideas, but they are not the ones to stick around and manage them. This personality has an enthusiastic and pioneering spirit. They are distinctly original.

Popularity

OF THE GIRL NAME ELLIOT

Oddly enough, Elliot is now bestowed on baby girls with enough frequency to land herself a spot on America's Top 1000 list. In fact, 2011 is the first year the name appeared on the female naming charts. But we can't bring ourselves to call Elliot unisex quite yet. It is so distinctly masculine in our view (although many parents prefer masculine sounding names for their baby daughters). We'll wait to see a few more years of X chromosome usage before we're willing to officially assign it gender-neutral status. Elliot is a great name – it sounds cute and smart at the same time. Robert De Niro and Ozzy Osbourne both have sons named Elliot. Sons. Not daughters. Just to clarify.

Quick Facts

ON ELLIOT

GENDER:

Girl

ORIGIN:

English

NUMBER OF SYLLABLES:

3

RANKING POPULARITY:

842

PRONUNCIATION:

EL-ee-ət

SIMPLE MEANING:

Yahweh is God

Characteristics

OF ELLIOT

Independent

Individualistic

Ambitious

Strong-willed

Inventive

Successful

Cultural References to the Baby Name – Elliot

Literary Characters

OF THE BABY NAME ELLIOT

Elizabeth Elliot is a character in Jane Austen’s 1817 novel, Persuasion. She is the snobbish and self-absorbed oldest of the three Elliot sisters, quite naturally the favorite of her equally snobbish widower father. He and she have already worked against Anne’s interests by persuading her not to marry for love alone. Elizabeth cares only for name and status, and she is determined to make a suitable match for herself. To that end, she sets her sights on her relative, Mr. Elliot, who will inherit her father’s property. Suitable he would be, however, Mr. Elliot is as vain and self-centered as Elizabeth is, and his main focus is on protecting that inheritance. Poor Elizabeth – at tale’s end she is staring spinsterhood in the face, there being no one to match her qualifications.

Anne Elliot is the heroine of Jane Austen’s final completed novel, Persuasion, published in 1817. Anne is the middle girl in a motherless family of fatuous snobs. She is high-minded, independent, good and kind. She is also heading into old-maid-hood, having reached the ripe old age of 27. When she was nineteen, Anne had allowed her superficial relatives to talk her out of marriage to Captain Wentworth, whom she loved, because he had no name, money or prospects. Well, wouldn’t you just know it – good Captain W. goes off and makes a fortune on his own, and under such circumstances, what’s in a name? Anne and the Captain’s paths pass again, and he is understandably cool to her; Anne herself still loves him. After the usual shenanigans involving other people’s interferences, Captain Wentworth comes to realize the goodness inherent in Anne, and that he still loves her, after all. Anne, for her part, has never stopped loving him, and she now realizes the potential for disaster in having been the subject of “persuasion”. And as Mr. Shakespeare would say, all’s well that ends well, and it does.

We cannot find any significant literary characters by the name of Elliot

Childrens Books

ON THE BABY NAME ELLIOT

We cannot find any childrens books with the first name Elliot


Popular Songs

ON ELLIOT

We cannot find any popular or well-known songs with the name of Elliot


Famous People

NAMED ELLIOT

Elliot Bigelow (baseball player)
Elliot Hovey (Olympic athlete, rowing)
Elliot Perry (basketball player)
Elliot Richardson (former U.S. Attorney General)
Elliott Sharp (musician)
Elliot Bigelow (baseball player)
Elliot Hovey (Olympic athlete, rowing)
Elliot Perry (basketball player)
Elliot Richardson (former U.S. Attorney General)
Elliott Sharp (musician)
Elliot Bigelow (baseball player)
Elliot Hovey (Olympic athlete, rowing)
Elliot Perry (basketball player)
Elliot Richardson (former U.S. Attorney General)
Elliott Sharp (musician)

Children of Famous People

NAMED ELLIOT

We cannot find any children of famous people with the first name Elliot

Historic Figures

WITH THE NAME ELLIOT

We cannot find any historically significant people with the first name Elliot