Brief Life History of Elizabeth
When Elizabeth Oliphant was born about 1560, in Berriedale, Caithness, Scotland, her father, Laurence Oliphant 4th Lord Oliphant, was 26 and her mother, Margaret Hay, was 26. She married Sir William Douglas 10th Earl of Angus on 12 April 1585, in Huntly, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. They were the parents of at least 6 sons and 3 daughters. She died on 20 June 1618, in Dalkeith, Midlothian, Scotland, at the age of 59, and was buried in Dalkeith, Midlothian, Scotland, United Kingdom.
Photos and Memories (2)
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Family Time Line
Sources (15)
- Find a Grave
- Elizabeth Oliphant in entry for Hellinor Livingston, "Scotland Births and Baptisms, 1564-1950"
- Elizabeth Oliphant in entry for Alexander Earl Of Callendar Livingston, "Scotland Births and Baptisms, 1564-1950"
Spouse and Children
Parents and Siblings
Name Meaning
English (London) and Scottish (Fife): from Old French olifard or olifant, of uncertain meaning. It has been suggested that this might be a derivative of Old French olif ‘olive’ + the pejorative suffix -ard ‘derisive nickname for one who preferred an olive branch to more martial weapons’; it may have denoted a man twisted like an olive-tree. The variant Olifant may have resulted from the substitution in Old Norman French of the sequence l-r by l-n, leading to a false association with Old French olifant ‘elephant’. This heraldic beast appears in the Scottish family's coats of arms. Branches of the Anglo-Norman family owned lands in both England and Scotland. The surname is now chiefly Scottish.
English: possibly a topographic name from residence at an inn known as the Olyphaunt or ‘elephant’, though whether this gave rise to a hereditary surname is unknown.
Dictionary of American Family Names © Patrick Hanks 2003, 2006.
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