Marle History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
France

Etymology of Marle

What does the name Marle mean?

The surname Marle is a name whose history dates back to the Middle Ages. It was a Norman name for a someone who bore a fancied resemblance to a blackbird having derived from the Old French word merle, meaning blackbird.

Early Origins of the Marle family

The surname Marle was first found in Normandy (French: Normandie), the former Duchy of Normandy, where this ancient family was established in early times.

The family was admitted to the honors of the Court in 1776, and again in 1789. Pierre-Hughes-Victor Merle was a general, who entered into the nobility in 1809; Jean-François Merlet was a counsel of the Conseil d'État, who entered into the nobility in 1810, and Jean-Joseph Merle was a colonel, who received his title to nobility in 1811.

Guy du Merle was an officer of the Legion of Honour and a lieutenant-commander, and he married Marcelle de Prat in 1907. Jean du Merle was a Contractual Engineer of water and forests, and Marguerite du Merle, a nun, was the secretary of the Mother Superior of Sacré Coeur in Rome.

Early History of the Marle family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Marle research. Another 166 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1050, 1302, 1306, 1509, 1560, 1562, 1575, 1731, 1798, 1810 and 1845 are included under the topic Early Marle History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Marle Spelling Variations

Most surnames have experienced slight spelling changes. A son may not chose to spell his name the same way that his father did. Many were errors, many deliberate. During the early development of the French language, a person usually gave his version, phonetically, to a scribe, a priest, or a recorder. Prefixes or suffixes varied. They were optional as they passed through the centuries, or were adopted by different branches to signify either a political or religious adherence. Hence, there a many spelling variations of the name Marle, including Marleau, Marleaux, Marlaud, Marlault, Marlet, Marlette, Marlod, Marlot, Marlotte, Marle, Merle, Merleau, Merleaux, Merlaud, Merlault, Merlet, Merlette, Merlod, Merlot, Merlotte, du Merle, Marlout, Marloux, Merlout and many more.

Early Notables of the Marle family

Notable amongst the family in this period was

Jérôme Marlet (1731-1810), a sculptor

Migration of the Marle family

In 1643, 109 years after the first landings by Cartier, there were only about 300 people in Quebec. Migration was slow. The fur trade attracted migrants, both noble and commoner. By 1675, there were 7000 French in Quebec. By the same year the French Acadian presence in the Maritimes had reached 500. The French founded Lower Canada, thus becoming one of the two great founding nations of Canada. The family name Marle has made many distinguished contributions in France and New France to the world of science, culture, religion, and education. Amongst the settlers in North America with this distinguished name Marle were André Merlot-LePetit-Laramee, who settled in Quebec in 1678; Louis Edmund Merle, who arrived in New York in 1823; Jean, aged 32; Anne, aged 31; Jean, aged 9.