Source
r/Scotland•
Geek_Charming

Is the name 'Elliot' Scottish or English?

Had breakfast with a MacLeod the other day, and she mentioned that my wife, an Elliot, is technically British. I googled: 'What nationality is the last name Elliot?' And it said: Scottish (of Breton origin): perhaps, as some members of the Elliott clan believe, a Scottish variant of the Breton surname Elleouet, a habitational name from one of the hamlets named Allegot in Finistère.

When I showed her this, she pointed out that 'Breton' is Britain, so that we were 'both right'?

Posted Dec 10, 2023, 5:11 PM UTC

127
Realistic-Stay-7352•

From Black's Surnames of Scotland:

Elliott is a form of the Border name Elwald or Elwold, which are themselves from the old English Aelfwald. So both, really. English in origin but by virtue of Elliotts settling in the borders, Scottish too.

Note: I instantly knew you were American from this post which tells you how much modern Scots care about this kind of thing.

35
consistent_Rent_6857•

Had breakfast with a MacLeod

did te, aye..

12
Substantial-Tree4624•

There can be only one.

1
VladimirPoitin•

Breton is a native of Brittany, making it Gaulish.

22
bokathal•

No idea on the origin (and who really cares), but your friend is definitely wrong that Breton means Britain - it denotes something/someone from Brittany, in modern day France.

19
ieya404•

I mean it's sort of right - that's why this island is Great Britain, to distinguish it from Little Britain (Brittany).

2
Sudden_Mirror_1922•

No. It's to distinguish it from the smaller British Isles.

1
ieya404•

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brittany

Brittany has also been referred to as Little Britain (as opposed to Great Britain, with which it shares an etymology).[2]

1
Shatthemovies•

All Scottish names are "technically" British as Scotland is part of the British isles.

8
WHATTHEFARO•

Are all Irish names British also then being part of the British Isles?

3
scabbytoe•

Don’t even go there. Down with this sort of thing!!

4
Shatthemovies•

Careful now

1
Substantial-Tree4624•

I dare you to pop into r/Ireland and say that.

2
Shatthemovies•

Yeah

-4†
WHATTHEFARO•

They may beg to differ with you.

5
Shatthemovies•

Fair enough, I don't see why the two are mutually exclusive.

Not sure if a Norwegian would have problems with a name being "Scandinavian" . Highlights how toxic the British label has become and why independence is vital for moving away from the political meaning of the word and getting back to the geographic meaning.

6
consistent_Rent_6857•

Taking time out to parade bare fucking arse.

1
GardenSprings•

Breton is not British. They're a Celtic people from Brittany (modern day France)

8
Jiao_Dai tha fàilte ort t-saoghal•

Technically more correct that you think Bretons were once Britons and they actually came back over with the Norman conquest and took lands in England and were granted lands in Scotland by David I - the Stuarts were believed to be in part descended from a Breton Knight Alan Fitz Flaad but of course the Stuarts and most Scots descended from everyone in Northern Europe Gaels, Picts, Britons, Anglo Saxons Normans and Vikings

1
Formal-Rain•

MacLeod is technically viking colonists.

6
Kangaroo197•

There's an interactive heat map for the geographical incidence of surnames in the UK according to census data.

You can check it out here: https://named.publicprofiler.org/

With that spelling, the epicenter seems to be in Hawick in the Scottish Borders. With a double T, it's most common in Fermanagh in Northern Ireland and Cumbria, England

Anyway, according to Wikipedia, the origins are obscure and the is a similar Breton name too. It's not clear how or if the two are related though.

5
kithkinkid•

Thanks for sharing the link, haven’t heard of this site before. Interesting to see!

2
consistent_Rent_6857•

"Had breakfast with a MacLeod the other day"

There can be only one, mate.

5
consistent_Rent_6857•

'Breton' is Britain

Leave now, when you have a chance.

3
Jiao_Dai tha fàilte ort t-saoghal•

Technically more correct that you think Bretons were once Britons and they actually came back over with the Norman conquest and took lands in England and were granted lands in Scotland by David I - the Stuarts were believed to be in part descended from a Breton Knight Alan Fitz Flaad but of course the Stuarts and most Scots descended from everyone in Northern Europe Picts, Britons, Anglo Saxons Normans and Vikings

1
JonjoShelveyGaming•

Derives from Anglo-Saxon aelfwud, so it's both lol

1
[deleted]•

[removed]

1
Substantial-Tree4624•

You could also say, on that logic, that William Wallace was a Welshman (Wallace derives from Wales).

My own very Scottish surname was brought to Scotland by a Norman noble circa 1100AD, but I don't consider myself French.

Brittany (France) was an area that many Brythonic people from what is now England fled to during the Roman occupation (and the name comes from this event). Breton likely did mean Brythonic or British 2000 years ago. I mean how far back do you want to go to stake a cultural claim?

1
Jiao_Dai tha fàilte ort t-saoghal•

Indeed - something many English or Scottish Kings might have asked themselves

They are Border Reivers - a cocktail of Britons, Anglo Saxons and Vikings - but Elliot may even have had Pictish origins once (from Angus) and moved to the Borders

1