Survey of English Place-Names

Historical Forms

• Eltone 1086 DB

• Eltona e13 Chest

• Eltona iuxta Petram l13 ib

• Elton e13 Chest 1281 Court

• Eltone iuxta Ines, Eltone iuxta Ynes 1308 Cl 1311 Plea 1497 ChRR

• Eltone in the forest of Mara 1343 Plea

• Elton Hall 1671 Sheaf

• Elton Green 1831 Bry

• Helton 1307 Eyre 1324 Chol

• Eldon 1356 BPR

• Ealton c.1617 Sheaf

• Elcton, Elcton Hall 1742 NotCestr

Etymology

'Eel-farm, farm where eels are got', from ēl2 and tūn , with hall and grēne 2 . Elton lies next to Ince 251supra on the low peninsula between the marshes of R. Gowy and R. Mersey. Elton 2258, on R. Wheelock, has the same derivation. The invariable El -, rather than Elle -, in the spellings argues against the OE  pers.n. Ella which DEPN proposes, whereas Ekwall's suggestion of 'eel-farm' for Elton Du, could well be accepted for the Ch Eltons, since both are places where eels might be taken. The addition -iuxta Petram alludes to Rock Fm infra .