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An excerpt from www.HouseOfNames.com archives copyright © 2000 - 2013

Origins Available: English, French

Where did the English Malet family come from? What is the English Malet family crest and coat of arms? When did the Malet family first arrive in the United States? Where did the various branches of the family go? What is the Malet family history?

Malet is a name of ancient Norman origin. It arrived in England with the Norman Conquest of 1066. Malet is a name that comes from the given name Malle, which is an Old English diminutive of Mary. The name Mary was originally, a Hebrew personal name meaning wished for child. The name Malet is also derived from the given name Malo, a popular form of the name of Saint Maclovius, the 6th century Welsh monk who gave his name to the church of Saint Maclou in Rouen. Personal names derived from the names of saints, apostles, biblical figures, and missionaries are widespread in most European countries. In the Middle Ages, they became increasingly popular because people believed that the souls of the deceased continued to be involved in this world. They named their children after saints in the hope that the child would be blessed or protected by the saint.

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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 Mallet, Mallett, Mallit, Mallitt, Malott, Mallot and many more.

First found in Suffolk where they held a family seat as Lords of the Manor of Cidestan. William Mallet was one of the greatest landowners in England, having 221 manors in Suffolk alone. He was ancestor of the Mallets of Somerset, Devon, and Cornwall, and those now resident in Jersey. William Mallet was descended from Gerard, a Viking prince and companion of Rollo, the first Duke of Normandy, about 950. They held the castle of Graville near Havre. Maternally, William Mallet was a Saxon, descended from the Earls of Mercia, and more distantly related to Morcar and Edwin, Earls of Northumberland. William Mallet was at the Battle of Hastings, and was instructed by William the Conqueror to take care of the slain King Harold's body. In 1068, he proceeded north with William and led in the reduction of the cities of Nottingham and York.


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This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Malet research. Another 273 words(20 lines of text) covering the years 1086, 1290, 1582, 1665, 1614, 1622, 1623, 1686, 1666, 1679, 1681 and 1685 are included under the topic Early Malet History in all our PDF Extended History products.

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Another 109 words(8 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Malet Notables in all our PDF Extended History products.

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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 Malet name or one of its variants:

Malet Settlers in the United States in the 18th Century


  • M. Malet and his wife, who were living in Louisiana in 1726

Malet Settlers in the United States in the 19th Century


  • Irunto Malet, aged 18, arrived in New Orleans, La in 1835

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  • Arthur Malet (b. 1927), English actor
  • Albert Malet (1864-1915), French historian and author of scholarly manuals
  • Albert Malet (1912-1986), French painter of the post-Impressionist Rouen school
  • André Malet (1862-1936), French abbot of the Trappist abbey of Sainte-Marie-du-Désert at Bellegarde-Sainte-Marie
  • Claude François de Malet (1754-1812), French general of the First French Empire, organiser of the coup d'état of 1812 against Napoleon
  • Jean-Roland Malet (1675-1736), French historian and economist
  • Laurent Marie Guespin- Malet (b. 1955), French actor
  • Léo Malet (1909-1996), French crime novelist and surrealist
  • Pierre Malet (b. 1955), French actor
  • Pierre Antoine Anselme Malet (1778-1815), French soldier mortally wounded at Waterloo


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The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Ma force d'en haut
Motto Translation: My strength is from above.

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  1. Egle, William Henry. Pennsylvania Genealogies Scotch-Irish and German. Harrisburg: L.S. Hart, 1886. Print.
  2. Burke, John Bernard Ed. The Roll of Battle Abbey. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing. Print.
  3. Cook, Chris. English Historical Facts 1603-1688. London: MacMillan, 1980. Print.
  4. 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).
  5. Bowman, George Ernest. The Mayflower Reader A Selection of Articales from The Mayflower Descendent. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing. Print.
  6. Skordas, Guest. Ed. The Early Settlers of Maryland an Index to Names or Immigrants Complied from Records of Land Patents 1633-1680 in the Hall of Records Annapolis, Maryland. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1968. Print.
  7. Ingram, Rev. James. Translator Anglo-Saxon Chronicle 1823. Print.
  8. Lennard, Reginald. Rural England 1086-1135 A Study of Social and Agrarian Conditions. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1959. Print.
  9. Burke, Sir Bernard. General Armory Of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales. Ramsbury: Heraldry Today. Print.
  10. Shaw, William A. Knights of England A Complete Record from the Earliest Time to the Present Day of the Knights of all the Orders of Chivalry in England, Scotland, Ireland and Knights Bachelors 2 Volumes. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing. Print. (ISBN 080630443X).
  11. ...

The Malet Family Crest was acquired from the Houseofnames.com archives. The Malet Family Crest was drawn according to heraldic standards based on published blazons. We generally include the oldest published family crest once associated with each surname.

This page was last modified on 27 May 2013 at 13:29.

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