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Mellon History Etymology Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Mellon History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
France
Germany
Ireland

Etymology of Mellon

What does the name Mellon mean?

Irish surnames are all based on the Gaelic language native to Ireland. The original Gaelic form of the name Mellon is Ó Meallain, which is derived from the word meall, which means pleasant.

Early Origins of the Mellon family

The surname Mellon was first found in County Tyrone (Irish:Tír Eoghain), the ancient territory of the O'Neills, now in the Province of Ulster, central Northern Ireland, where they held a family seat from ancient times.

Early History of the Mellon family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Mellon research. Another 80 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Mellon History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Mellon Spelling Variations

Those scribes in Ireland during the Middle Ages recorded names as they sounded. Consequently, in this era many people were recorded under different spellings each time their name was written down. Research on the Mellon family name revealed numerous spelling variations, including Mallon, O'Mallon, O'Malin, O'Mellan, Malin, Mellan and many more.

Early Notables of the Mellon family

Prominent amongst the family at this time was

Mallon, Chief of O'Mellon's Country

Mellon Ranking

In the United States, the name Mellon is the 6,166^th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 1

Mellon migration to the United States +

Thousands of Irish families left for North American shores in the 19th century. These people were searching for a life unencumbered with poverty, hunger, and racial discrimination. Many arrived to eventually find such conditions, but many others simply did not arrive: victims of the diseased, overcrowded ships in which they traveled to the New World. Those who lived to see North American shores were instrumental in the development of the growing nations of Canada and the United States. A thorough examination of passenger and immigration lists has disclosed evidence of many early immigrants of the name Mellon:

Mellon Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Nich Mellon, who landed in Virginia in 1653 2

Mellon Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Joseph Mellon, who arrived in Mobile, Ala in 1764 2

Mellon Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Sarah Mellon, aged 20, who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1834 2
John Mellon, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1846 2
C Mellon, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1851 2
Mr. James Mellon, Infant, British settler who arrived in New York aboard the ship "Cynosure" in 1863
Mrs. Alice Mellon, aged 59, British settler who arrived in New York aboard the ship "Cynosure" in 1863
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Mellon Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Ann Mellon, aged 21, who immigrated to the United States from Tyrone, in 1904
Alma Mellon, aged 6, who landed in America from Liverpool, England, in 1908
Ailsa Mellon, aged 6, who landed in America, in 1908
Anna Mellon, aged 4, who settled in America from Bellshill, Scotland, in 1909
Bernard Mellon, aged 4, who landed in America from Dundee, Scotland, in 1910
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Mellon migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Mellon Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Garratt Mellon, (b. 1778), aged 50, Irish ploughman who was convicted in Longford, Ireland for life for house breaking, transported aboard the "Fergusson" on 16th November 1828, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, he died in 1848 3
Bridget Mellon, aged 18, a servant, who arrived in South Australia in 1858 aboard the ship "Stamboul"

Mellon migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Mellon Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. William Mellon, British settler as part of the 8th Detachment of the Royal New Zealand Fencibles travelling from Gravesend aboard the ship "Oriental Queen" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 18th September 1849 4
Mrs. Mary Mellon, British settler travelling from Gravesend aboard the ship "Oriental Queen" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 18th September 1849 4

Contemporary Notables of the name Mellon (post 1700) +

Andrew W. Mellon (1855-1937), American banker, one of the longest serving U.S. Treasury Secretaries in history (1921 to 1932)
Thomas Mellon (1813-1908), Irish-born, American entrepreneur, lawyer, judge, founder of Mellon Bank, and patriarch of the Mellon family
Matthew Taylor Mellon II (1964-2018), American businessman, Chairman of the New York Republican State Committee’s finance committee
William Larimer "W.L." Mellon Sr. (1868-1949), American businessman and politician, founder of Gulf Oil in 1901, Chairman of the Republican State Committee of Pennsylvania (1926-1928)
Rachel "Bunny" Lowe Lambert Lloyd Mellon (1910-2014), American horticulturalist, gardener, philanthropist, and art collector, second wife of philanthropist and horse breeder Paul Mellon
William Larimer "Larry" Mellon Jr. (1910-1989), American philanthropist
William Larimer Mellon Sr. (1868-1949), American entrepreneur, founder of Gulf Oil
Timothy Mellon, American entrepreneur, founder of Guilford Transportation Industries
Richard King Mellon (1899-1970), American financier
Richard B. Mellon (1858-1933), American banker, industrialist and philanthropist
... (Another 7 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 4th October 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/fergusson
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html