Maid History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

Etymology of Maid

What does the name Maid mean?

Maid is one of the many names that the Normans brought with them when they conquered England in 1066. The Maid family lived in Cheshire. Before migrating to Normandy and then England, this family was originally the lords of Monte Alto, in Italy. Their name is thought to be a version of this place-name which underwent significant corruption through translation through several languages before being Anglicized.

Early Origins of the Maid family

The surname Maid was first found in Cheshire where the family of Maude, originally the Lords of Monte Alto, in Italy, settled in the Lordships and manors of Montalt and Hawarden in the county of Flint.

Early History of the Maid family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Maid research. Another 160 words (11 lines of text) covering the years 1174 and 1800 are included under the topic Early Maid History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Maid Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names tend to be marked by an enormous number of spelling variations. This is largely due to the fact that Old and Middle English lacked any spelling rules when Norman French was introduced in the 11th century. The languages of the English courts at that time were French and Latin. These various languages mixed quite freely in the evolving social milieu. The final element of this mix is that medieval scribes spelled words according to their sounds rather than any definite rules, so a name was often spelled in as many different ways as the number of documents it appeared in. The name was spelled Maude, Maud, Mawd, Mold, Mould, Moulds, Molds and others.

Early Notables of the Maid family

Another 47 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Maid Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Maid family to Ireland

Some of the Maid family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Maid migration to the United States +

Because of the political and religious discontent in England, families began to migrate abroad in enormous numbers. Faced with persecution and starvation at home, the open frontiers and generally less oppressive social environment of the New World seemed tantalizing indeed to many English people. The trip was difficult, and not all made it unscathed, but many of those who did get to Canada and the United States made important contributions to the young nations in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers with Maid name or one of its variants:

Maid Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Thomas Maid, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1852 1

Sources +

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)