These days, the given name Elvis is most often a tribute to Elvis Presley, a famous American singer (1935–1977). However, it was originally a reference to Saint Elvis (an anglicisation of the Irish Saint Ailbe), who is one of the four great patrons of Ireland.

The name is traditionally said to come from the Old Irish words ail, meaning 'rock' and beo, meaning 'living', although this is almost certainly not true. The name is more likely to come from the Latin albus, meaning 'white', or the Celtic root albio-, meaning 'world', the same root that gave us Albion, the oldest recorded name for Britain.

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