Show ContentsMelley History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Melley family

The surname Melley was first found in Somerset where Mells (St. Andrew), is a civil parish, in the union of Frome, in the hundred of Mells and Leigh. The parish dates back to pre-Domesday Book and was known as Milne in 942 derived from the Old English word "myln." 1 By the time of the Domesday Book the name place name had evolved to "Mulle" or "Mulne" which meant "several mills." At that time, it was part of the land of St Mary of Glastonbury and held land big enough for 20 ploughs. The mill was also operative. 2 In Suffolk, Mells is a hamlet in the parish of Wenshaston in the union and hundred of Blything. This hamlet has always been much smaller than the Somerset locale as in the early 19th century the Somerset village had 1,261 residents while the Suffolk hamlet had only 123.

Early History of the Melley family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Melley research. Another 139 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1103, 1177, 1449, 1455, 1487, 1510, 1560 and 1600 are included under the topic Early Melley History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Melley Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Mell, Mel, Melle, Mele and others.

Early Notables of the Melley family

More information is included under the topic Early Melley Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


United States Melley migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Melley Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Wilson Melley, who arrived in Washington County, Pennsylvania in 1848 3


  1. Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
  2. Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
  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)


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