1,329 Global ELLEN Family Members

ELLEN Family History

This unusual surname derives from the female personal name "Ellen", which was the usual medieval English vernacular form of the given name "Helen", from the Greek "Helene", thought to be a derivative of "Helane", torch, and often translated as "the bright one". The given name was popular in medieval England, partly because Helena was the name of the mother of Constantine the Great, the Holy Roman Emperor credited with finding the True Cross; according to legend, St. Helena was the daughter of a British King. The surname development includes Walter Eleyn (1279, Oxfordshire), Ralph Elene (1314, Essex), Robert Elyn (1327, Suffolk), and William Helyns (1332, Worcestershire)...