Minnes History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

Minnes is a name of ancient Norman origin. It arrived in England with the Norman Conquest of 1066. Minnes is a name that comes from the given name Miles or Milo. 1 2 The name Minnes is of Germanic origin and is derived from the Old German word mil, which meant beloved. The family name Minnes was brought to England after the Norman Conquest, when William the Conqueror gave his friends and relatives most of the land formerly owned by Anglo-Saxon aristocrats. This distinguished family descended from Miles, who was the Marshall of Duke William and who held lands at Caen, Vauceles, and Venoix in Normandy. 3 The Norman conquerors imported a vast number of continental European personal names, such as the name Minnes, which largely replaced traditional Old English personal names among the upper and middle classes.

Early Origins of the Minnes family

The surname Minnes was first found in Lincolnshire where Johannes filius Mile was listed (1150-1160.) Seventy years later, the name would be found in the Pipe Rolls of Berkshire in 1230 as Milo Noyrenuyt. 4 By the time of the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273, the listings in Bedfordshire were the most numerous: William filius Milon; and Milo le Messer. The same rolls listed: Peter Myles in Kent; Wychard Miles in Lincolnshire; and Margery Mylys in Cambridgeshire. 5 The Pipe Rolls of Sussex listed Nicholaus Miles in 1177 and the Subsidy Rolls of Yorkshire listed Nicholaus filius Miles in 1297. And then there was this interesting note confirming the relationship between Milo and Miles: "Another Ralph Miles, a fishmonger, of Bridge Ward (1292 Subsidy Rolls of London), founded a chantry for his late lord Milo, no doubt Miles de Oystergate, fishmonger." 4

Early History of the Minnes family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Minnes research. Another 93 words (7 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Minnes History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Minnes 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 Miles, Myles and others.

Early Notables of the Minnes family

More information is included under the topic Early Minnes Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Minnes family to Ireland

Some of the Minnes 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.

Minnes 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 Minnes or a variant listed above were:

Minnes Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Albert Minnes, who settled in New York, NY sometime between 1663 and 1667
Thomas Minnes, who landed in Virginia in 1651 6

Contemporary Notables of the name Minnes (post 1700) +

Dr. Bruce Minnes, Assistant Professor in the department of Pediatrics at the University of Toronto

Citations +

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
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)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
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)