Mayow History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The name Mayow reached English shores for the first time with the ancestors of the Mayow family as they migrated following the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Mayow family lived in Norfolk. Their name, however, derives from the family's place of residence prior to the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, Mayeux, Normandy. 1

Early Origins of the Mayow family

The surname Mayow was first found in the parish of Morvall, Cornwall. "The manor of Bray, passed from the Herles to the family of Mayow, of whom John Mayow an eminent physician was a distinguished member. This gentleman contributed some papers on the nature of respiration, which were published in the Philosophical Transactions. Bray is now the property, and the occasional residence of Philip Wynhall Mayow, Esq. In the church are memorials for the families of Mayow, Kendall, and Coode." 2

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1275 listed Henry Meyer and Bartholomew le Meyre in Norfolk; and David le Meir in Lancashire. 3

Early History of the Mayow family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Mayow research. Another 142 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1631, 1641, 1679, 1695 and 1708 are included under the topic Early Mayow History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Mayow 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 Mayo, Mayow, Mayhow, Mayho and others.

Early Notables of the Mayow family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was

Richard Mayo (Mayow) (1631?-1695), an English nonconformist minister, biographer of Edmund Staunton

Mayow 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 Mayow name or one of its variants:

Mayow Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Phillip and Helen Mayow, who settled in Pennsylvania in 1685 with their son and daughter, John and Martha
John Mayow, who landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1685 4
Martha Mayow, who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1685 4
Philip Mayow, who landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1685 4
Elizabeth Mayow, who landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1685 4

Contemporary Notables of the name Mayow (post 1700) +

John Mayow (1640-1679), English chemist

Citations +

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)
Hutchins, Fortescue, The History of Cornwall, from the Earliest Records and Traditions to the Present Time. London: William Penaluna, 1824. Print
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
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)