Eltink Family History

There are thought to be two possible origins for the surname Eltink, which appears to be a Dutch rendering of the German name "Elting". First of all, Eltink may be a patronymic name, one that was drawn from the given name of the father of the original bearer. In this instance, the inspiration for the name would probably have been a name such as "Aldo" or "Aldico", both pet forms of old Germanic personal names like "Aldawin" and "Aldebrand", themselves ultimately derived from the Old High German word "alt", meaning "old". Research indicates that most Germanic patronymic names were based, as was Eltink, on vernacular personal names rather than on baptismal names honoring Christian saints, which were the source for most patronymic names in other European cultures.

The second suggested origin for the surname Eltink, as advanced by the respected scholars Brechenmacher and Bahlow, is as a toponymic name linking the original bearer with a place of habitation. In this case, it is believed that at least some bearers of the name Eltink are the descendants of one-time residents of the town of Eltingen, which is located in the territory of Wuerttemberg, near the larger settlement of Leonberg, which once served as a regional administrative center. There are several examples in German records of persons whose names reflected their connections with Eltingen. One "Uolrich Elting" was recorded as a witness in a judicial proceeding at Rottemburg in 1332, while references from the thirteenth century mention "Wernherus, presbiter de Eltingen" and his brother "Marquardus" as owner of an estate. More recently, the farmers Bernard and Eleanor Elting were recorded in an 1850 census of Dutch households in the United States.

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