Mellanby History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The Norman Conquest of England in 1066 brought much change, including many immigrants with new names. Among these were the ancestors of the Mellanby family, whose name comes from the Old Norman personal name Melmor. The name Mellanby was also the name of several places in Cumberland and the North Riding of Yorkshire. The family name Mellanby 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.

Early Origins of the Mellanby family

The surname Mellanby was first found in Yorkshire where they held a family seat as Lord of the Manor of the large village of Malmerbi or Melmerby, near Hutton Conyers. At the time of the taking of the Domesday Book in 1086, a survey of all England taken by Duke William to record the ownership of all taxable land in England, Melmerby was held by Count Alan, and, conjecturally, it is from this family the surname is descended. Melmerbi is given by Cottle as "farm of the devotee of (St) Mary" but this shows an Irish origin which is unsupported. Count Allan also held Wensleydale, south of Richmond. He was anciently a Breton, known as Allan the Black, distinguishing him from Duke Allan the Red, his brother. It was customary amongst the Norman families who introduced surnames into England after the Conquest, to name their sons, nephews and so on, by the name of the Manors which they held so as to distinguish these descendents from the main line.

Early History of the Mellanby family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Mellanby research. Another 27 words (2 lines of text) covering the years 1316 and 1412 are included under the topic Early Mellanby History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Mellanby Spelling Variations

Norman surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. The frequent changes in surnames are largely due to the fact that the Old and Middle English languages lacked definite spelling rules. The introduction of Norman French to England, as well as the official court languages of Latin and French, also had pronounced influences on the spelling of surnames. Since medieval scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded, rather than adhering to any specific spelling rules, it was common to find the same individual referred to with different spellings. The name has been spelled Mellanby, Mellanbie, Mellsanby, Melsanby, Melanbie, Melanby, Mellerby, Melerby, Melanbie, Melmerbie, Mellmerby, Mellmerby, Mellmerbie, Mallansby, Malansbie, Mallansbie, Malansby, Melmerby, Mellenbie, Mellenby, Melenby, Melenbie, Mallenbray, Malenbray, Melanbray, Melanbry, Malenbry, Melsanby and many more.

Early Notables of the Mellanby family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was

Mellanby of Melmerby

Migration of the Mellanby family to Ireland

Some of the Mellanby family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 60 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Mellanby migration to the United States +

Many English families emigrated to North American colonies in order to escape the political chaos in Britain at this time. Unfortunately, many English families made the trip to the New World under extremely harsh conditions. Overcrowding on the ships caused the majority of the immigrants to arrive diseased, famished, and destitute from the long journey across the stormy Atlantic. Despite these hardships, many of the families prospered and went on to make invaluable contributions to the development of the cultures of the United States and Canada. Early North American immigration records have revealed a number of people bearing the name Mellanby or a variant listed above:

Mellanby Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Edmund Mellanby, aged 41, who landed in America from Gosforth, in 1904
Florence M. Mellanby, aged 32, who immigrated to the United States from Bishopton, England, in 1920

Contemporary Notables of the name Mellanby (post 1700) +

Sir Edward Mellanby GBE, KCB, MD, FRCP, FRS (1884-1955), English physician, best known as the discoverer of vitamin D and the role of the vitamin in preventing rickets in 1919
Ralph Mellanby (1934-2022), Canadian sportscaster and executive producer of Hockey Night in Canada broadcasts from 1966 to 1985, born in Hamilton, Ontario
Scott Edgar Mellanby (b. 1966), Canadian professional ice hockey player
Kenneth Mellanby (1908-1993), Scottish ecologist and entomologist