Ely
Usually a locational surname from Ely in Cambridgeshire, taking its name from the river-and-island landscape of the city.
The #2,745 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 23,515 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is generally taken from the place name Ely in Cambridgeshire. The city’s name is traditionally linked to the old river and marsh landscape of the Isle of Ely, often explained in reference to eels or an eel-rich region, though the exact place-name origin is debated by scholars. As a surname, Ely would have identified someone who came from that town or district.
History
Locational surnames like Ely became hereditary in medieval England as people moved away from their home places. The name is most strongly associated with Cambridgeshire, though it may also sometimes reflect a connection to the wider Isle of Ely rather than the city alone. In later centuries it appears in English-speaking records as a straightforward place-based surname.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same place name appears in the title of the Bishop of Ely, a reminder of the city’s long ecclesiastical importance.
From the historical record
“ELWORTHY. A parish in co. Somerset. ELY. A city in Cambridgeshire. EMANUEL. A well-known Jewish sur- name. ELIARY. See Amory. E:\IBERS0N. a corruption of Emer- son. EMBLETON. Parishes, &c., in cos.”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom