The name Eliott is an English variant spelling of the name Eliot, which is derived from the Old French personal name Eliot. This name is a diminutive form of the Germanic name Ælíëz, which is composed of the elements ael meaning "all" and hiz meaning "kind" or "type." The name Ælíëz ultimately stems from the Old German name Ælihis.

The name Eliot first appeared in records in England during the Middle Ages, with early examples including Eliot de Stubton, who was listed in the Hundred Rolls of Lincolnshire in 1273. Another early bearer of the name was Eliot de Brockley, who was mentioned in the Court Rolls of the Manor of Wakefield in Yorkshire in 1316.

One of the earliest and most famous historical figures with the name Eliot was Sir Thomas Elyot (c. 1490-1546), an English scholar, diplomat, and literary Renaissance humanist. He served as a Member of Parliament and authored several influential works, including "The Boke Named the Governour" (1531), which was a treatise on moral philosophy and education.

Another notable historical figure with the name was John Eliot (c. 1604-1690), an English Puritan missionary who was known as the "Apostle to the Indians." He translated the Bible into the Massachusett language, becoming the first to publish a complete translation of the Bible into a language indigenous to the Americas.

In literature, the name is perhaps most closely associated with the American-born British poet T.S. Eliot (1888-1965), who was a leading figure in the modernist movement and is best known for works like "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," "The Waste Land," and "Four Quartets." He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1948.

Other notable historical figures with the name Eliott include George Augustus Eliott (1717-1790), a British Army officer who successfully defended Gibraltar against Spanish and French forces during the Great Siege of Gibraltar from 1779 to 1783. Sir John Eliott (1592-1632) was an English statesman and leader of the opposition to King Charles I in the Parliament of England.