Contents [hide]

Macey History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Macey History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland
Scotland

The surname Macey is a name that came to England in the 11th century wave of migration that was set off by the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Macey family lived in Cheshire. Their name, however, is a reference to their place of residence prior to the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, Macey in Manche, Normandy. 1

Early Origins of the Macey family

The surname Macey was first found in Cheshire, but looking back further, this Norman family originated at Macey in Manche, Normandy and Hamon Massie arrived in England with the Conqueror and was granted the lands of Dunham-Massey in Cheshire. He was a tenant of Lupus, Earl of Chester.

"In 1086 Hugh de Maci held lands in Huntingdonshire 2, and Hamo or Hamund de Maci held nine lordships in barony from Hugh Lupus in Cheshire, and 1193 subscribed the foundation charter of Chester Abbey, and granted lands to it." 1

"The present town of Dunham-Massey, 'the home of the Masseys on the downs,' takes its name from this Hamon, one of the Palatinate barons, who there built his castle, and made it the head of his honour. His descendants held it for more than two hundred and seventy years, five generations in succession bearing his name." 3

By the time of the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273, the name was scattered throughout England as seen by the following entries found there: Alan Macey and Henry Macy in Suffolk; Robert de Maysey and William de Macy in Wiltshire; and Walter Masci in Huntingdon. 4

"The Massies of Sale, who gave their name to Saughall Massie, and had branched off as early as the time of King John, ended in 1685 with Richard Massy and his seven daughters. Of this line were the Massies of Backford and Timperley, whose last heir died in the time of Henry V.: the Massies of Edgeley, still flourishing under James I.: the Mascys of Godley, and probably those of Hough and Kelshall. The Masseys that were seated at Crossley till 1600." 3

Early History of the Macey family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Macey research. Another 119 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1602, 1612, 1676, 1700, 1706, 1753 and 1797 are included under the topic Early Macey History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Macey Spelling Variations

A multitude of spelling variations characterize Norman surnames. Many variations occurred because Old and Middle English lacked any definite spelling rules. The introduction of Norman French to England also had a pronounced effect, as did the court languages of Latin and French. Therefore, one person was often referred to by several different spellings in a single lifetime. The various spellings include Macy, Macey and others.

Early Notables of the Macey family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was General Edward Massey who fought with Charles I at Worcester; Thomas Mace (c.1612-1706), an English lutenist, viol player, singer...
Another 27 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Macey Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Macey Ranking

In the United States, the name Macey is the 14,252^nd most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 5

Migration of the Macey family to Ireland

Some of the Macey family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 55 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Macey migration to the United States +

Many English families left England, to avoid the chaos of their homeland and migrated to the many British colonies abroad. Although the conditions on the ships were extremely cramped, and some travelers arrived diseased, starving, and destitute, once in the colonies, many of the families prospered and made valuable contributions to the cultures of what would become the United States and Canada. Research into the origins of individual families in North America has revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Macey or a variant listed above:

Macey Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

John Macey, who landed in Virginia in 1638 6

Macey Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

T R Macey, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1850 6
Jacob Macey, who landed in New York in 1897 6

Macey migration to Australia +

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

Macey Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Samuel Macey, (Maisey), (b. 1798), aged 20, English labourer who was convicted in Middlesex, England for life for pick pocketing, transported aboard the "Baring" in December 1818, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, he died in 1880 7
Mr. Edward Macey, (b. 1800), aged 19, British Convict who was convicted in Middlesex, England for life for pick pocketing, transported aboard the "Coromandel" on 27th October 1819, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land), he died in 1834 8
James Macey, English convict from Wiltshire, who was transported aboard the "Adelaide" on August 08, 1849, settling in Van Diemen's Land and Port Phillip, Australia 9

Contemporary Notables of the name Macey (post 1700) +

Jonathan R. Macey, American Sam Harris Professor of Corporate Law, Corporate Finance and Securities Law at Yale Law School
Reese L. Macey, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Tennessee, 1936 10
John R. Macey, American Democratic Party politician, Postmaster at Latrobe, Pennsylvania, 1968-81 (acting, 1968) 10
Jesse Macey, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Iowa, 1908 10
Harold Macey, American politician, Candidate for Presidential Elector for New Hampshire, 1948 10
Adrian Macey (b. 1948), English-born, New Zealand diplomat
David Macey (1949-2011), English translator and intellectual historian
Dean Macey (b. 1977), English decathlete
Lance Macey, New Zealand gold medalist lawn bowls competitor at the 1938 British Empire Games
Hubert "Hub" Macey (1921-2008), Canadian professional NHL ice hockey forward
... (Another 1 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Cleveland, Dutchess of The Battle Abbey Roll with some Account of the Norman Lineages. London: John Murray, Abermarle Street, 1889. Print. Volume 3 of 3
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
"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 16th September 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/baring
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 12th March 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/coromandel
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2014, November 17) Adelaide voyage to Van Diemen's Land and Port Phillip, Australia in 1849 with 303 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/adelaide/1849
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 15) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html