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Ellen

proper noun

  1. female given name
  2. family name
L488410 on Wikidata ↗

Wiktionary

Pronunciation: /ˈɛl.ən/ / /ˈɛl.ɪn/

name

Etymology: Medieval English variant of Helen, from Ancient Greek Ἑλένη (Helénē); also used as a variant of Eleanor or a feminine counterpart to Elliot.

  1. A female given name from Ancient Greek.

    And how doth my cousin, your bedfellow? and your fairest daughter and mine, my god-daughter Ellen?

    "Is her name Ellen or Helen, Miss Viner? I thought - " Miss Viner closed her eyes. "I can sound my h's, dear, as well as anyone, but Helen is not a suitable name for a servant. I don't know what the mothers in the lower classes are coming to nowadays."

  2. A river in Cumberland district, Cumbria, England, that flows into the Solway Firth at Maryport.

noun

Etymology: From Middle English elne, ellen, from Old English ellen (“zeal, strength, power, vigor, valor, courage, fortitude, strife, contention”), from Proto-West Germanic *alljan, from Proto-Germanic *aljaną (“zeal, power, courage”). Cognate with Middle High German ellen (“strength, manhood”), Middle Low German ellen (“strength, power, courage, vigor, bravery”), Icelandic elja (“endurance, energy”).

  1. Zeal.
  2. Strength; courage.
  3. Strength vouchsafed; comfort; grace.