Ellender Family History

English (Kent): variant of Ellenor with inorganic -d- from the Middle English (Old French) female personal name Alienor Elianor (Eleanor) popularized by Edward III's queen Eleanor of Castile. The name was first introduced into England by Eleanor of Aquitaine (1122–1204) wife of Henry II.

She is the first known bearer of the name which is of uncertain origin. It was once thought to be an Occitan form of Helen but this is linguistically implausible.

English: perhaps a topographic name for someone who lived on a piece of land surrounded by streams from Middle English e(i)lond (Old English egland) ‘island’ + -er.

Possibly also an altered form of German Elender: nickname for a stranger or newcomer from Middle High German ellende ‘strange foreign’ or a habitational name for someone from any of twenty places called Elend denoting a remote settlement as for example in the Harz Mountains or in Carinthia Austria.