Submitted Name Revision History

Fifteenth century variant of 'Helen'. This spelling has been found not infrequently on lists of medieval and Elizabethan names. One register of a period church lists the name four-to-one over more 'conventional' spelling 'Ellen'. In England, St. Helen was often called St. Ellyn, as in the 'Holy Well of St. Ellyn' near Tarleton in Lancashire.

John Foxe's 'Book of Martyrs' refers to 'Mistress Ellyn', the lady-in-waiting to whom Jane Grey gave her gloves and handkerchief before execution.

Interestingly, the word 'ellyn' in Manx Gaelic means "art, artfulness, manners".