Find out how popular the last name Eliot is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Eliot.

Eliot, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Eliot surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Eliot in America

Eliot is the 33196th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Eliot surname appeared 689 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Eliot.

We can also compare 2010 data for Eliot to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Eliot

The surname ELIOT originates from France and is derived from the Old French personal name Eliot, itself a diminutive form of the Germanic name Aeilliout, meaning "elf council". It first appeared in England after the Norman Conquest of 1066 as new French settlers arrived.

Some of the earliest recorded instances of the name in England can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it is spelled Ayllot and Ayliet. By the 13th century, the spelling had evolved to forms like Eliot, Elyot, and Ellyot.

The surname is linked to various place names, including Eliot in Gloucestershire, derived from the Old English words "el" (elf) and "hot" (ridge or promontory). The family held lands in this area after the Norman Conquest.

In 1268, the Oxfordshire Hundred Rolls mention a John Eliot. Another early bearer was Sir John Elyot (c.1490-1546), an English diplomat and scholar who served under King Henry VIII and wrote "The Boke Named the Governour".

One notable bearer was John Eliot (1604-1690), known as the "Apostle to the Indians", who translated the Bible into the Algonquian language and helped establish several Native American towns in Massachusetts.

Thomas Eliot (1490-1546) was a Member of Parliament and one of the principal secretaries of state to King Henry VIII, while Sir John Eliot (1592-1632) was a Puritan statesman who advocated against Charles I's policies, leading to his imprisonment.

George Eliot (1819-1880), the pseudonym of Mary Ann Evans, was a famous English novelist known for works such as "Middlemarch" and "The Mill on the Floss". Andrew Eliot (1718-1778) was a Boston merchant and philanthropist who donated funds to establish the town of Elliot, Maine.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Eliot

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Eliot.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Eliot was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Eliot has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Eliot was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Eliot, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!