Where the Ellis name comes from

Ellis began in England as a patronymic from Elis, the Middle English form of the personal name Elias. Elis reached English through Old French, and Elijah, Lias and Ely all trace back to the same root. Some English families took the name from Elice instead, a pet form of Elizabeth.

In Wales the surname followed a separate line, shortened from the personal names Elisse and Elisedd. Those come from the archaic Welsh elus, meaning benevolent or kind. The Welsh name still carries over as a given name, Ellis being the anglicised form of Elisedd. A third and unrelated French origin is said to come from the phrase fleur-de-lis.