[1] The name of the village was recorded in the Domesday Book as Eltone,[2] derived from the words ēl and tūn, meaning "eel farm or settlement.

[5] Since 1983, Elton has formed part of the Ellesmere Port and Neston parliamentary constituency, presently represented by Justin Madders of the Labour Party.

There are two services each way per day, Monday to Saturday, to Ellesmere Port, Helsby, Liverpool Lime Street, and Warrington Bank Quay.

[9] In 2020 Encirc opened the world's largest container glass furnace, capable of processing up to 900 tonnes per day.

[8][10] North east of the village, landowners The Peel Group are developing a 54 hectares (130 acres) industrial site on a former water meadow at Ince Park.

The Protos "energy and resource hub"[11] houses a biomass power station, a timber recycling plant and designated "nature areas".