Frequency: (149)
(number of times this surname appears in a sample database of 88.7 million names, representing one third of the 1997 US population)
1. English: habitational name for someone from Eldon in County Durham or Elveden in Suffolk. The first is named from the Old English personal name Ella + dūn ‘hill’; the second from Old English elfitu ‘swan’ or elf ‘elf’, ‘fairy’ + denu ‘valley’.
2. English: nickname from Middle English eld ‘old’ + hine ‘servant’.
See the Key to the Dictionary or consult the General Introduction for further explanation.
