Milk Surname History

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

Etymology of Milk

What does the name Milk mean?

The name Milk is thought to derive from the Middle English word "milksop," which was "a piece of bread soaked in milk." As a name, it may have evolved from a nickname for a "spiritless" man. It has also been suggested that it mays have been an occupational name for a farmer who dealt with milk products.

Early Origins of the Milk family

The surname Milk was first found in Buckinghamshire, England, where they held a family seat as Lords of the manor of Milksop. This name has often been maligned as referring to an effeminate person, but this is most unlikely, it is more likely from the trade-name as a farmer who dealt with milk products, i.e., the sap or sop of milk or curds and whey. The former explanation is merely an assumption by Victorian historians. The origin of this name is almost exclusively in the heart of the English farming counties of Buckingham, Oxford, and Bedfordshire.

Early History of the Milk family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Milk research. Another 89 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1273, 1300, 1572, 1620, 1637 and 1736 are included under the topic Early Milk History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Milk Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Milksop, Milsop, Millsop, Millsopp, Milsops, Millsops, Millsopps, Mellsop, Mellsopp, Melsops, Mellsopps, Millinchop, Millinshop, Millsap, Millsapp, Milsap, Milsapp, Milsaps and many more.

Early Notables of the Milk family

Roger Milksop of Buckingham

Migration of the Milk family to Ireland

Some of the Milk family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 31 words (2 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Milk family

Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: John and Thomas Milksop who settled in Charles Town, South Carolina in 1719; another Thomas Milksop settled in Maryland in 1718.

Contemporary Notables of the name Milk (post 1700) +

Harvey Bernard Milk (1930-1978), American politician, the first openly gay elected official in California; he was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1978, posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009