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My G-G-Grandfather's name
I have run out of places to look for in ANY information on
a masculine first name that has run through my family from the 1700's to the mid 1800's.
That name is ELA. It was the first name of my G-G-
Grandfather, ELA PRENTICE. It is suspected that it was the middle name of my G-Grandfather( John E. Prentice) the E. is suspected to stand for Ela. My Grandfather was named ELA ASLER PRENTICE
in 1857, but her refused to use that name. He was called ASHER for
his entire life. His rejection of the name is believed to be
caused by the fact that ELA may have been pronounced as feminine name of ELLA.
The origin of my ancestor's would be English, Irish, and
perhaps Scottish. The physical characteristics of the Irish seem
to have prevailed, so it may be that there is where the name originated.
Any information on this named would gge greatly appreciated.
Please respond to
kadona@networld.com
Thank You
Dona (Prentice) Olsen
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Replies

'Ela' is Irish for swan.
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This is just a very rare Old Testament Biblical name. There is a man named Ela mentioned in the book of I Kings, Chapter 4, Verse 18, as one of King Solomon's twelve officers responsible for supplies.If the name has been in the family since the 1700s, it is possible that the original Ela was born at a time when some families still sometimes chose names for children by opening the Bible at random, and using the first name they saw on that random page.
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"If the name has been in the family since the 1700s, it is possible that the original Ela was born at a time when some families still sometimes chose names for children by opening the Bible at random, and using the first name they saw on that random page."That's very interesting. I feel like I learned something new. :)
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