If you carry the name Elliot, Elliott, Eliott, or any of their many cousins, your roots likely trace back to the wild hills of southern Scotland. The Scottish surnames of Clan Elliot come from one of the most colourful families in Border history. For centuries, the Elliots ruled Liddesdale with a fierce pride that few families could match.
This is a clan built on loyalty, boldness, and survival. Their motto says it all: Fortiter et Recte — Boldly and Rightly. Whether you live in Virginia, Ontario, or New South Wales, those words were your ancestors’ creed.
The Elliot Name: Origins and Spelling Variants
The name Elliot has ancient roots. DNA research has confirmed that the Elliots trace back to Breton families who crossed to England with William the Conqueror in 1066. The Elliots, Alliots, and Elligotts were part of a large Breton group who came with the Norman invasion.
Before 1500, the name usually appeared in Old English as “Elward” or “Elwold.” People pronounced it “Ellot.” By 1600, the phonetic spelling had taken hold. Around 1650, “Elliot” became the standard form.
But spelling in Scotland was never simple. A famous clan rhyme captures the key difference:
“The double L and single T / Descend from Minto and Wolflee / The double T and single L / Mark the old race in Stobs that dwell.”
This tells you something important. If your ancestors spell their name “Elliot” (one T), they likely descend from the Minto or Wolflee branches. If they spell it “Eliott” (two Ts), they come from the ancient Stobs line. And “Elliott” (two Ls, two Ts) is common among Scottish-Americans whose families Anglicised the name further over generations.
Related spellings include Eliot, Eliott, Elyot, and Alliot. Some French records even show the name as Alliot — a co-variant that confirms the Breton link. Distant cousins named Elegoet had their name Anglicised to Elligott, Ellacott, and Ellicott. All of these names point back to the same windswept hills.
The Elliots of Liddesdale: Clan Territory
Robert Bruce gave the Elliot clan their homeland. Around 1320, Walter d’Elliot and his clan — described as “twelve great families” — were moved to Liddesdale. Bruce had just lost his barony of the Brae in Perthshire. He settled the Elliots in the Upper Liddesdale valley instead.
Liddesdale sits in what is now the Scottish Borders council area, close to the English border. The valley is remote. The hills roll in every direction. Streams cut through peat and heather. It was perfect territory for a clan that would spend the next three centuries raiding both sides of the border.
The Elliots held “The Middle March” — the central section of the frontier between Scotland and England. Their chief was usually appointed Captain of Hermitage Castle in Liddesdale. This grim fortress controlled the main route through the valley. Whoever held Hermitage held the Borders.
The principal Elliot family in the early years was the Elliots of Redheugh. They often served as Captains of Hermitage. In the late 1500s, the Elliots of Stobs emerged as the most powerful branch. Gawain Elliot of Stobs was descended from the Redheugh line.
Stobs Castle, near Hawick in Roxburghshire, became their seat. The castle stood for over three centuries. A fire in 1712 destroyed much of the building and all the family documents. The Elliots sold Stobs in 1905, ending a four-hundred-year connection to the land.
The Border Reivers: Scotland’s Most Notorious Raiders
The Elliots were among the greatest of the Border Reiver clans. Reivers were armed raiders who crossed the border freely, stealing cattle, burning farmsteads, and fighting feuds. They did not see themselves as criminals. They were survivors in a land that no central government could fully control.
The Elliots rode alongside the Armstrongs, the Kerrs, and the Scots. You can read about neighbouring clan territories in our articles on Scottish Surnames of Clan Armstrong and Scottish Surnames of Clan Kerr.
Reiving was a way of life on both sides of the border. The Elliots raided English farms. English clans raided them back. The law barely reached Liddesdale. Scottish kings tried to pacify the Borders for decades without success.
When James VI became James I of England in 1603, the Union of the Crowns changed everything. The border ceased to be a frontier. James moved fast to break the Reiver clans. He hanged their leaders, dispersed their families, and deported hundreds of Elliots to Ireland — particularly to Ulster, as part of the Plantation. Many others fled to England or took ships across the Atlantic. This dispersal spread the Elliot name around the world.
🏴 Enjoying this? 43,000 Scotland lovers get stories like this every week. Subscribe free →
Elliot Surnames and Scottish Clan Sept Names
The Elliot family tree has many branches. These are the main surnames linked to the clan:
Core Elliot Surnames
- Elliot — The most common Scottish spelling. One L, one T. Found across Roxburghshire and Liddesdale.
- Eliott — The old Stobs spelling. One L, two Ts. Marks the ancient Stobs branch near Hawick.
- Elliott — Common in America, Canada, and Australia. Two Ls, two Ts. The Anglicised diaspora form.
- Eliot — A simpler variant found in Lowland records and some English branches.
- Elyot — An older spelling found in early parish records from the 1500s.
Related and Variant Surnames
- Alliot / Alliott — Breton co-variant. Some Alliots became Elliots and vice versa in early records.
- Elligott — From the Breton Elegoet family. Found mainly in Ireland after the Ulster Plantation.
- Ellacott — An English form of the same root name. Common in Devon and Somerset.
- Ellicott — Another Anglicised variant found in colonial American records.
If your family name is any of the above, you may well have Elliot blood running through your veins. The best place to start tracing your line is ScotlandsPeople, the national online archive. Our full guide on How to Plan a Scottish Heritage Trip will help you turn a name into a journey.
The Elliot Tartan
The Elliot tartan was first documented in 1880 in a publication called Clans Originaux. It appeared again in 1906 in Johnston’s The Tartans of the Clans and Septs of Scotland. The tartan features a deep blue ground with red and green stripes. It reflects the cool greens and deep blues of the Borders landscape.
You will see the Elliot tartan worn at Highland games from Edinburgh to Toronto. Wearing it connects you to something real. It is a visual link to the people who rode out of Liddesdale on dark winter mornings, ready to defend their name.
Famous Elliots in History
The Elliot clan produced some remarkable figures once they stepped off the Border hills and onto a wider stage.
George Augustus Elliot (1717–1790) is perhaps the most dramatic. He served as Governor of Gibraltar during the Great Siege of 1779–1783. A combined Franco-Spanish force tried to take the Rock. Elliot held it for nearly four years. He became a national hero. The Crown made him Baron Heathfield in honour of the defence.
Gilbert Elliot, 1st Earl of Minto (1751–1814) served as Governor-General of India from 1806 to 1813. He was a reformer and diplomat who worked to stabilise British India during a difficult period.
Gilbert Elliot, 4th Earl of Minto (1847–1914) followed the family tradition. He served as Governor-General of Canada from 1898 to 1904. He then became Viceroy of India, succeeding Lord Curzon in 1905 and serving until 1910. These men carried the same bold instinct as their Border ancestors. They just found different frontiers.
The Dispersal: Elliots Around the World
James VI’s crackdown after 1603 sent the first wave of Elliots abroad. Many went to Ulster, where their descendants became part of the Ulster-Scots community. From Ulster, thousands later crossed to America in the 18th century. The Elliot name spread widely through Virginia, the Carolinas, and Pennsylvania.
Scottish-American families carried the name further west. By the 19th century, Elliots appeared in every American state. In Canada, Elliot settlers came with the waves of Scottish Highland and Border emigrants in the 1800s. Many landed in Nova Scotia, Ontario, and Prince Edward Island.
In Australia and New Zealand, the name arrived with the free settlers and assisted emigrants of the mid-1800s. The Elliot Clan Society of Australia still maintains active links with the Scottish homeland. If you are planning a roots trip, our 7-Day Scottish Ancestry Itinerary is a great place to start planning.
Where to Visit Elliot Country Today
Hermitage Castle, Liddesdale is the most dramatic site in Elliot country. This 14th-century fortress stands in an isolated valley south of Hawick. Historic Environment Scotland manages the castle. You can visit from April to September. The silence around the castle is extraordinary. On a grey morning, you understand why it was called “the guardhouse of the bloodiest valley in Britain.”
Hawick is the main town in Roxburghshire and the closest urban centre to Stobs. The town celebrates its Border Reiver heritage every year with the Common Riding festival. The Hawick Museum on Wilton Lodge Road has exhibits on local history, including the Reiver period.
The Scottish Borders Heritage Trail links key sites across the region. You can walk or drive between Hermitage, Jedburgh Abbey, Kelso Abbey, and Melrose Abbey. All of these places witnessed the turbulent history of Border clans like the Elliots.
National Records of Scotland (Edinburgh) holds Old Parish Records going back to the 1500s for Scottish Borders parishes. If you know your ancestral parish — Liddesdale, Castleton, Hawick — you can search for birth, marriage, and death records. Many Elliot entries survive from the 1600s onwards. Our guide on Scottish clan ancestry research gives useful background on reading these records.
The road into Liddesdale from Hawick is not a tourist road. It winds through empty hills past forgotten farmsteads. But if you carry an Elliot name, that emptiness belongs to you. Your people shaped that landscape. Going back is not tourism. It is a homecoming.
Join 43,000+ Scotland Lovers
Every week, get Scotland’s hidden gems, clan histories, and Highland travel inspiration — straight to your inbox.
Subscribe free — enter your email:
Already subscribed? Download your free Scotland guide (PDF)
Love more? Join 64,000 Ireland lovers → · Join 30,000 Italy lovers → · Join 7,000 France lovers →
Free forever · One email per week · Unsubscribe anytime
Frequently Asked Questions About Clan Elliot
What does the name Elliot mean?
The name Elliot comes from Breton origins. The Breton form was similar to “Elegoet.” It entered English as Elward or Elwold, then simplified to Ellot, and finally Elliot. The name has been linked to words meaning “noble” or “strong shield.” It is one of the oldest Border surnames in Scotland.
What is the difference between Elliot, Elliott, and Eliott?
All three spellings come from the same clan. A famous old rhyme explains the key difference: “Elliot” (one L, one T) descends from the Minto and Wolflee branches. “Eliott” (one L, two Ts) marks the ancient Stobs family. “Elliott” (two Ls, two Ts) is the most common form outside Scotland. All are accepted as Elliot clan names.
Where did the Elliots originally come from?
DNA research confirms that the Elliots have Breton roots. They were part of the Norman invasion of 1066. Robert Bruce later settled them in Liddesdale in the early 14th century. The family became one of the most powerful Border Reiver clans in Scottish history.
What is the Clan Elliot motto?
The motto is Fortiter et Recte, which means “Boldly and Rightly” in Latin. The clan badge is a wild thistle. The crest shows a hand holding a broadsword. These symbols reflect the fighting spirit of the old Reiver families.
Are there Elliot clan societies I can join?
Yes. The Elliot Clan Society has branches in the United Kingdom, the United States, and Australia. They organise clan gatherings, maintain genealogical records, and connect families around the world. Visiting their events is one of the best ways to start exploring your heritage.