Nellis Family History

Flemish and German: variant of Nelis. Irish (Ulster): shortened form of Mac Niallghuis see McNelis Nelis.

English (North Yorkshire): of uncertain origin. A derivation from Middle English Nellis an unrecorded rhyming pet form of Ellis is not impossible.

Alternatively, it might be a variant of Neels, though this name is rarely recorded in northern England.

The earliest spellings of the name have final -t (Nellist), generally assumed to be excrescent and not original to the name.

However, the ubiquity of this feature suggests it may be intrinsic to the true etymology.