# Elvis (name)

Elvis is a male given name that first appears as that of a Saint Elvis, a figure said to be active in medieval Wales. While the name features in early Medieval Welsh literature and is of Celtic origin, it is uncertain if the name was originally Irish (Gaelic) or Welsh (Brythonic).
The name has also become predominantly associated in contemporary culture since the mid-twentieth century with the American singer Elvis Presley.

## Usage

The name most commonly refers to American singer and actor Elvis Presley (1935–1977). Earlier bearers of the name include American government official and college administrator Elvis Jacob Stahr Jr. (1916–1998, born the same year as Elvis Presley's father, Vernon Elvis Presley). In most cases, however, it refers to people who have the name as a tribute to Elvis Presley. People in this latter group includes those who changed their names themselves (with British-born singer and songwriter Elvis Costello being an example), and those who were named Elvis by their parents.

## Saint Elvis

The saint's name is given as Eilfyw in Welsh, Ailbe in Irish, and Elvis in later English translations. Writing in the late 11th century Buchedd Dewi ("Life of David"), Rhigyfarch states that a Saint Elvis baptised Saint David at Porthclais. Welsh traditions suggest that Elvis spent much of his life in this area, as he is said to have fostered the young St David while serving as bishop of Menevia (present-day St Davids). There remains a number of places associated with the saint that bear the name "Elvis" in the St Davids area, including a burial chamber, a shrine, the Parish of St Elvis, St Elvis farm and St Elvis's Well.
If the saint's name is of a Welsh origin, the Irish version Ailbe may be a gaelicisation of an Ancient British name ancestral to modern Welsh Eilfyw or Eilfw. Alternatively, the name may be related or identical to the Brythonic names Elwen, Eluan and Elvan, the names of a number of several attested saints venerated in early medieval Wales, Cornwall and Brittany. Or even from the surname Elwes. If the name is of Welsh origin, it may derive from the Old Welsh elfydd ("world" or "land"), ultimately from the common Celtic root albi(i̭)o- ("world")
A folk etymology is suggested for a Gaelic origin of the name in the 14th-century Vita Albei, deriving it from ail ("a rock") and beo ("living").

## Other proposed etymologies

In medieval French sources, the unrelated homograph Elvis occurs as a feminine name, a variant of Helvis, Aluysa, Alaisa, from a Germanic name such as Alwis.
The name may also be derived from the Scandinavian Old Norse word Alviss which in Norse mythology means all-wise.

## People with the name
### Musicians

* Elvis Presley (1935–1977), American singer and actor, known simply as Elvis, also known as "The King of Rock and Roll"
* Elvis Costello (born 1954), the stage name of Declan Patrick MacManus, English singer
* Elvis J. Kurtović (born 1962), the stage name of Mirko Srdić, Bosnian rock and roll musician
* Elvis Perkins (born 1976), American singer and songwriter
* Elvis Blue (born 1979), the stage name of South African Idol's season 6 winner Jan Hoogendyk
* Elvis Hitler, the stage name of Jim Leedy, an American singer and the frontman of the band Elvis Hitler
* Elvis Crespo (born 1971), Puerto Rican Merengue singer
* Elvis Martínez (singer) (born 1976), Dominican singer, songwriter, and guitarist
* Elvis Williams (born 1981), better known as Blac Elvis, American record producer, musician, and songwriter
* Elvis Francois (born 1985), American orthopedic surgeon and singer
* Elvis Maswanganyi (born c. 1985), South African DJ, better known as DJ Mujava

### Athletes (association football)

* Elvis Franks (born 1957), American football player
* Elvis Patterson (born 1960), American football player
* Elvis Brajković (born 1969), Croatian footballer
* Elvis Scoria (born 1971), Croatian football manager and former player
* Elvis Toci (born 1971), Albanian sport manager
* Elvis Thomas (soccer, born 1972), Canadian soccer player
* Elvis Hajradinović (born 1972), Macedonian-Bosnian footballer
* Elvis Mešić (born 1977), Bosnian footballer
* Elvis Scott (born 1978), Honduran footballer
* Elvis Seveali'i (born 1978), Samoan rugby union footballer
* Elvis Sina (born 1978), Albanian footballer
* Elvis Plori (born 1978), Albanian footballer and coach
* Elvis Kotorri (born 1979), Albanian footballer
* Elvis Hammond (born 1980), Ghanaian footballer
* Elvis Abbruscato (born 1981), Italian footballer
* Elvis Dumervil (born 1984), American football player
* Elvis Andrus (born 1988), Venezuelan baseball player
* Elvis Pinel (born 1988), Nicaraguan footballer
* Elvis Kokalović (born 1988), Croatian footballer
* Elvis Fisher (born 1988), American football player
* Elvis Sarić (born 1990), Bosnian footballer
* Elvis Džafić (born 1990), Slovenian footballer
* Elvis Bratanović (born 1992), Slovenian footballer
* Elvis Manu (born 1993), Ghanaian footballer
* Elvis Prençi (born 1993), Albanian footballer
* Elvis Stuglis (born 1993), Latvian footballer
* Elvis Thomas (born 1994), Antiguan footballer
* Elvis Kabashi (born 1994), Albanian footballer
* Elvis Garcia Carvalho (born 1996), Brazilian footballer

### Athletes (other sports)

* Elvis Merzļikins (born 1994), Latvian ice hockey player
* Elvis Grbac (born 1970), American football player
* Elvis Perrodin (1956–2012), American jockey
* Elvis Gordon (1958–2011), Jamaican-born English judoka
* Elvis Rolle (born 1958), Bahamian basketball player
* Elvis Forde (born 1959), Barbadian sprinter
* Elvis Fatović (born 1971), Croatian water polo player
* Elvis Gregory (born 1971), Cuban fencer
* Elvis Reifer (1961–2011), Barbadian cricketer
* Elvis Dominguez (born 1963), American baseball player and coach
* Elvis Álvarez (1965–1995), Colombian boxer
* Elvis Yero (1965–2001), Cuban-American boxer
* Elvis Stojko (born 1972), Canadian figure skater
* Elvis Sinosic (born 1971), Australian mixed martial artist
* Elvis Peña (born 1974), Dominican baseball player
* Elvis Mihailenko (born 1976), Latvian boxer
* Elvis Vermeulen (born 1979), French rugby player
* Elvis Contreras (born 1979), Dominican volleyball player
* Elvis Trujillo (born 1983), American jockey
* Elvis Mutapčić (born 1986), Bosnian-American mixed martial artist
* Elvis Burrows (born 1989), Bahamian swimmer
* Elvis Gashi (born 1992), American kickboxer
* Elvis Cedeño (born 1964), Venezuelan hurdler

### Other

* St Elvis, a Celtic saint active in the 5th and early 6th centuries
* Elvis Jacob Stahr Jr. (1916–1998), American administrator and government official
* Elvis Ngolle Ngolle (born 1953), Cameroonian politician and a professor
* Elvis Mitchell (born 1958), American film critic, formerly with The New York Times
* Elvis McGonagall (born 1960), the stage name of Richard Smith, Scottish poet and stand-up comedian
* Elvis Tsui (born 1961), the stage name of Xu Jinjiang, Hong Kong actor
* Elvis Amoroso (born 1963), Venezuelan politician and lawyer
* Elvis Duran (born 1964), the stage name of Barry Brian Cope, host of Elvis Duran and the Morning Show
* Elvis Afriyie Ankrah (born 1967), Ghanaian politician
* Elvis Nolasco (born 1968), American actor
* Elvis Nkandu (born 1971), Zambian politician
* Elvis Sekyanzi (born 1975), Ugandan businessman
* Elvis Naçi (born 1977), Albanian imam and theologian
* Elvis González Valencia (born 1979 or 1980), Mexican suspected drug lord
* Elvis Morris Donkoh (born 1983), Ghanaian politician
* Elvis Agyemang (born 1988), Ghanaian televangelist and author
* Elvis Han (born 1992), the stage name of Han Dongjun, Chinese actor
* Elvis Siwela, South African politician
* Elvis Loveless, Canadian politician

## Fictional characters

* Elvis, a pet alligator in Miami Vice
* Elvis Cole, private investigator and protagonist of the Robert Crais series of crime novels
* Elvis Cridlington, a firefighter in Fireman Sam
* Elvis "EJ" DiMera, a character on the American soap opera Days of Our Lives
* Elvis Gratton, a character in the short films, films, and television series of Pierre Falardeau
* Elvis, a character in Perfect Dark
* Elvis, a character in God Hand
* Elvis, a guide dog in Growing Up Fisher
* Li'l Elvis Jones, main character in the Australian animated musical children's television series Li'l Elvis and the Truckstoppers