Show ContentsMeth History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Meth is one of the many new names that came to England following the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Meth family lived in Methley, Yorkshire. Methley is situated midway between Leeds and Pontefract and the town dates back to Anglo-Saxon times.The village of Methley contains a fine church dating from the 14th century with family tombs and medieval carvings which inspired the sculptures of Henry Moore.

Early Origins of the Meth family

The surname Meth was first found in Yorkshire from very ancient times. At the taking of the Domesday Book in 1086 the village of Methley, midway between Leeds and Pontefract, was held by Ilbert de Lacy, a Norman noble who accompanied King William in his conquest of England at Hastings in 1066. The village of Methley contains a fine church dating from the 14th century with family tombs and medieval carvings which inspired the sculptures of Henry Moore.

Early History of the Meth family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Meth research. Another 109 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1379 and 1614 are included under the topic Early Meth History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Meth Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. When the Normans became the ruling people of England in the 11th century, they introduced a new language into a society where the main languages of Old and later Middle English had no definite spelling rules. These languages were more often spoken than written, so they blended freely with one another. Contributing to this mixing of tongues was the fact that medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, ensuring that a person's name would appear differently in nearly every document in which it was recorded. The name has been spelled Methley, Methly, Mettley, Meythly, Methelay, Methlay and many more.

Early Notables of the Meth family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was

  • Bartholomew Methley of Eastley


United States Meth migration to the United States +

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that plagued their homeland made the frontiers of the New World an attractive prospect. Thousands migrated, aboard cramped disease-ridden ships. They arrived sick, poor, and hungry, but were welcomed in many cases with far greater opportunity than at home in England. Many of these hardy settlers went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Among early immigrants bearing the name Meth or a variant listed above were:

Meth Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Caspar Meth, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1739 [1]
  • Johannes Meth, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1739 [1]
Meth Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Wilhelm Meth, who arrived in Texas in 1850-1906 [1]

Contemporary Notables of the name Meth (post 1700) +

  • Monty Meth MBE (1926-2021), British journalist who was the industrial editor of the Daily Mail


  1. 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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