Elwood Surname and Variants

Elwood
habitational name from a place in Gloucestershire, which is probably named from Old English ellern ‘elder tree’ + wudu ‘wood’.
from the Old English personal name Ælfweald, composed of the elements ælf ‘elf’ + weald ‘rule’. In the British Isles this spelling is now found predominantly in northern Ireland.
Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4

Elwood is an ancient Anglo-Saxon surname that came from an ancient Chieftain titled Aldwold.

The English language only became standardized in the last few centuries; therefore, spelling variations are common among early Anglo-Saxon names. As the form of the English language changed, even the spelling of literate people's names evolved. Elwood has been recorded under many different variations, including Elwood, Ellwood, Ellward, Elward and others.

First found in Yorkshire where they were seated from very ancient times, some say well before the Norman Conquest and the arrival of Duke William at Hastings in 1066 A.D.

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that shrouded England made the far away New World an attractive prospect. On cramped disease-ridden ships, thousands migrated to those British colonies that would eventually become Canada and the United States. Those hardy settlers that survived the journey often went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Elwood or a variant listed above: Ralph Ellwood who settled in New England in 1635; Cipper Ellwood settled in Jamaica in 1685; Thomas Ellwood settled in Pennsylvania in 1682 with his wife and son and daughter.