Merlau History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
France
Ireland

The surname Merlau is a habitational place-name, which is a type of hereditary surname, and is derived from the name of the place in which the first bearer lived. Merlau is derived from is Morlaix, in Brittany, a peninsula in the northwest of France. Formerly known as Armorica, a possession of the Roman Empire, this land consists of a plateau with a deeply indented coast and is broken by hills in the west.

Early Origins of the Merlau family

The surname Merlau was first found in Buckinghamshire at Marlow, a town and civil parish within Wycombe district. The earliest record of the place was listed as Merelafan in 1015, but was listed a few years later as Merlaue in the Domesday Book 1. Literally, the name means 'land remaining after the draining of a pool' having been derived from the Old English words mere + laf 2 However, another reference claims the ancient name of this place was Merlaw, supposed to be derived from the Saxon word Mere, meaning a marsh, and Law or Low, meaning a hill. Marlow, historically called Great Marlow, first sent representatives to parliament in the 28th of Edward I., and continued so to do till the 2nd of Edward II. Little Marlow is a parish in the borough of Marlow about 1 1/2 miles from Marlow and as the name would imply has historically been much smaller.

Early History of the Merlau family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Merlau research. Another 128 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1132, 1409, 1564, 1733 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Merlau History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Merlau Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Marlowe, Marloe, Marleau, Marlow and others.

Early Notables of the Merlau family

Another 43 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Merlau Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Merlau family to Ireland

Some of the Merlau family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 78 words (6 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Merlau migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Merlau Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

John Henry Merlau, who arrived in Mississippi in 1840 3

Citations +

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