The name Ellis is an English given name derived from the Old English surname Ellys, which itself originated from an Old English personal name Ęlle, meaning "foreign." The name likely came into use as a personal name in England during the Middle Ages.

One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Ellis is found in the Domesday Book, a survey of England commissioned in 1086 by William the Conqueror. The entry includes a landowner named Ellis from Yorkshire.

A notable historical figure with the name Ellis was Ellis de Hauvill, a 12th-century English nobleman who served as Lord Chancellor of England from 1199 to 1201. He played a key role in the negotiations surrounding the Magna Carta.

In the 16th century, Ellis Heywood (c. 1530 - 1578) was an English Protestant martyr who was burned at the stake for his religious beliefs during the Marian persecutions.

During the American Revolutionary War, Ellis Hughes (1730 - 1794) was a Welsh-born American patriot who served as a Deputy Governor of Georgia and fought in the Siege of Savannah.

In the field of literature, Ellis Parker Butler (1869 - 1937) was an American author best known for his short story "Pigs is Pigs," which became a popular humorous tale.

Another notable figure with the name Ellis was Ellis Arnall (1907 - 1992), a politician who served as the 67th Governor of Georgia from 1943 to 1947, and was later appointed as the Director of the Office of Price Stabilization by President Harry S. Truman.