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Ely History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Ireland United States Australia West Indies

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Suggested Reading Citations

Ely History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The ancestors of the Ely family migrated to England following the Norman Conquest of 1066. The surname Ely is based on Fitz Elie, the name of a distinguished Norman family who came to England in 1066 with William the Conqueror's invasion.

Early Origins of the Ely family

The surname Ely was first found in Cambridgeshire at Ely, a city, and the head of a union, in the Isle of Ely. 1 2

"This place, which is the capital of an extensive district in the Fens, comprising the greater part of the northern division of Cambridgeshire, is supposed to have derived its Saxon name Elig either from the British Helyg, a willow, with which tree, from the marshy nature of the soil, it especially abounded, or, according to Bede, from Elge, an eel, for which fish it was equally remarkable. Ethelreda, daughter of Anna, King of the East Angles, founded a monastery here, in 673, for monks and nuns." 3

The earliest records of the family were not from here, but in elsewhere at the time of the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273: Reginald filius Elye, Lincolnshire; and Gilbert Elye, Kent. 4The Placita de Quo Warranto, temp. Edward I-III also listed John filius Elie, Lincolnshire, 20 Edward I (during the twentieth year of King Edward I's reign.) In Norfolk, Nicholas de Ely was bailiff of Norwich, 1227. 5

Nicholas of Ely (d. 1280), was Chancellor and successively Bishop of Worcester and Winchester, and "may have derived his name from the fact that about 1249 he was appointed Archdeacon of Ely. He was also a few years later Prebendary of St. Paul's. There is, however, a Nicholas of Ely mentioned as prior of the Cluniac monastery of Daventry in Northamptonshire between 1231 and 1264. " 6

Early History of the Ely family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Ely research. Another 81 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1604, 1605, 1609, 1634, 1656 and 1675 are included under the topic Early Ely History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ely Spelling Variations

Before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago, spelling variations of names were a common occurrence. Elements of Latin, Norman French and other languages became incorporated into English throughout the Middle Ages, and name spellings changed even among the literate. The variations of the surname Ely include Ely, Elie, Ealy and others.

Early Notables of the Ely family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was

William Ely (d. 1609), was an English Catholic divine, brother of Dr. Humphrey Ely, born in Herefordshire, and educated at Brasenose College, Oxford. His brother, Humphrey Ely (d. 1604), was also an E...
Nathaniel Ely (Eli) (1605-1675), born in Tenterden, Kent, England, sailed from Ipswich aboard the Elizabeth, in 1634 and became a founding settler of Hartford and Norwalk, Connecticut and served as a...

Ely Ranking

In the United States, the name Ely is the 2,726^th most popular surname with an estimated 12,435 people with that name. 7

Migration of the Ely family to Ireland

Some of the Ely family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 31 words (2 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ely migration to the United States +

In England at this time, the uncertainty of the political and religious environment of the time caused many families to board ships for distant British colonies in the hopes of finding land and opportunity, and escaping persecution. The voyages were expensive, crowded, and difficult, though, and many arrived in North America sick, starved, and destitute. Those who did make it, however, were greeted with greater opportunities and freedoms that they could have experienced at home. Many of those families went on to make important contributions to the young nations in which they settled. Early immigration records have shown some of the first Elys to arrive on North American shores:

Ely Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Mr. Ely, who arrived in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1620 aboard the ship "Mayflower", he may have only stayed a year before returning 8
Walter Ely, who settled in Virginia in 1621
Elzabeth Ely, aged 30, who landed in Virginia in 1622 aboard the ship "Warwick" 8
Mrs. Ely, who arrived in Virginia in 1623 8
Walter Ely, who landed in Virginia in 1623 8
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Ely Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Jane Ely, who landed in Virginia in 1711 8
Hans David Ely, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1732 8
Christien Ely, aged 49, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1732 8
David Ely, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1754 8

Ely Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

F Ely, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1803 8
G E Ely, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1851 8
H C Ely, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1851 8
H G Ely, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1851 8
Mrs. C Ely, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1851 8

Ely migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Ely Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Joseph Ely, British convict who was convicted in Nottinghamshire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Henry Tanner" on 27th June 1834, settling in New South Wales, Australia 9
Barbara Ely, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Troubadour" in 1850 10

Ely migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 11

Ely Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Gabriel Ely, aged 21, who landed in Jamaica in 1684 8

Contemporary Notables of the name Ely (post 1700) +

John Daniel Ely (b. 1986), American contemporary Major League Baseball right-handed starting pitcher
Harry Ely, American Major League Baseball player who for the Baltimore Orioles in 1892
Harry A. Ely, American football and baseball coach, active from 1892 to 1893
Dudley Pettibone Ely (1817-1895), American politician, 1st and 3rd Mayor of South Norwalk, Connecticut (1870-1872), (1876-1877)
Arthur V. Ely (1912-1942), United States Navy officer who was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross for his actions in combat during World War II
Richard Theodore Ely (1854-1943), American economist, founder and the first Secretary of the American Economic Association
Janet Ely (b. 1953), American gold and silver medalist diver in 1975
Eugene Burton Ely (1886-1911), American aviation pioneer, credited with the first shipboard aircraft take off and landing on November 14, 1910
Ronald Pierce "Ron" Ely (b. 1938), stage name of Ronald Pierce, American film actor, best known for having portrayed Tarzan in the 1966 NBC series Tarzan and for his starring role in the 1975 film Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze
Melvin Anderson Ely (b. 1978), American professional basketball player from Harvey, Illinois
... (Another 61 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Ely family +

St. Francis Dam

Mr. Aaron Jack Ely, American resident in Santa Clarita killed when the St. Francis Dam failed and flooded the area in 1928
Mrs. Margaret Ely, (nee Coleman), American resident in Santa Clarita killed when the St. Francis Dam failed and flooded the area in 1928
Mr. LeRoy Donald Ely, American resident in Santa Clarita killed when the St. Francis Dam failed and flooded the area in 1928

Citations +

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Barber, Henry, British Family Names London: Elliot Stock, 62 Paternoster Row, 1894. Print.
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Rye, Walter, A History of Norfolk. London: Elliot Stock, 62, Paternoster Row, 1885. Print
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 7th January 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/henry-tanner
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) TROUBADOUR 1850. Retrieved http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1850Troubadour.gif
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies