Meles History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Scotland

Etymology of Meles

What does the name Meles mean?

The surname Meles is a name that was carried to England in the great wave of migration from Normandy following the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Meles family lived in Melhuish in Devon. The surname Meles is a habitation name that was originally derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads. The surname originated as a means of identifying individuals from a particular area. In the Middle Ages people often assumed the name of the place that they originally lived as their surname during the course of travel.

Early Origins of the Meles family

The surname Meles was first found in Devon where Testa de Nevill, sive Liber Feodorum, temp. Henry III-Edward I. lists: William de Melehywis; and John de Melewis. 1

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 listed Elinora de Melhywys, Devon. 2

"Melhuish or Melluish is a very ancient Devonshire name. In the Hundred Rolls we read of Elenora de Melhywys, of Melhywys, a seat in the barony of Okehampton. Thomas Melhinche of this county (evidently a misprint for Melhuishe) contributed £25 for the defence of his country at the time of the invasion of the Spanish Armada in 1588 (Sp.). A gentle family of Melhuish resided at Witheridge in the 16th and 17th centuries (W.). Richard Melhuish was a Tiverton churchwarden in 1656 (D.). Richard Melhuish was mayor of Barnstaple in 1708 (G.). The name still occurs in Witheridge and Tiverton." 3

Up in Scotland, the name is a "form of Malise. Gillemycell Malys, 'tailyoer,' is in record in 1481, and John Males was tenant in Strathdee in 1527. Robert Malies was tenant of Hiltoun of Birneth (Birnie) in 1565, and in 1643 there is entry of payment for ale to John Malleis in Aberdeen. The northern surname Lees is probably a curtailed form of this name." 4

Early History of the Meles family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Meles research. Another 171 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1350, 1527, 1564, 1588, 1643, 1647, 1655, 1657, 1674, 1730, 1751, 1771, 1773, 1814, 1822, 1877 and 1887 are included under the topic Early Meles History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Meles Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Mellish, Mellise, Melersh, Mellersh, Melluish, Melish, Mellersh, Mellis, Melliss, Meliss, Melles, Meles, Malis, Malise and many more.

Early Notables of the Meles family

Notable amongst the family at this time was Hugh Mellis (fl. 1588), English mathematician, had from his youth, as he himself informs us, a natural genius for drawing proportions, maps, cards, buildings, and plates. He attended Dr. Robert Forth at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, and went to the arithmetic lecture in the common school. He left the service of Forth, who afterwards became a master in chancery, about 1564. Subsequently he kept...
Another 71 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Meles Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Meles migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Meles Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Nick Meles, aged 29, who arrived in Texas in 1906 5
Constantine Meles, who arrived in Texas in 1910 5
Nek Meles, who landed in Texas in 1910 5

Citations +

Testa de Nevill or "Liber Feodorum" or "Book of Fees," thought to have been written by Ralph de Nevill, for King John (1199–1216)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)