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After the forces of Strongbow invaded Ireland they discovered that the Irish had their own system of hereditary surnames. Although the two naming systems had many similarities, occupational surnames, such as Meiler were much more common to the Anglo-Norman culture of the Strongbownians. Occupational surnames were derived from a word describing the actual job done by the initial name bearer. The prefix le, meaning the, in French was often used by the early Strongbownians to link a person's first and name and surname. Eventually these prefixes were dropped or became fused onto the beginning of the surname. The surname came from a common occupational name for an enameler. The surname Meiler is derived from the Old French word esmaileur, which has this meaning. The name Meiler is also occasionally derived from the Welsh personal name Meilyr, which was Maglorix in Old Welsh. The Gaelic forms of the surname Meiler are Maoilir and Mac Maoilir.
The surname Meiler was first found in Wales. One of the first recorded ancestors bearing this name was Nicholas Meyler, Canon of St. David's in South Wales in 1202.
We know that at least one branch of the family accompanied Strongbow, Earl of Pembroke on his invasion of Ireland in 1172. There, settling in Wexford, some of the family adopted the Gaelic of Maoilir, and some even became MacMeyler and McMeyler.
George Meyler and Walter Meyler where notables of this branch at Tincurry, Wexford. Meanwhile, a branch of the family settled in Shropshire, where Henry and Walter Meyler were registered in 1273.
Meyler de Bermingham (d. before 1275) was an Anglo-Irish lord, founder of Athenry. Meyler was a great-grandson of Robert de Bermingham who is thought to have obtained a grant of Offaly from Strongbow or Henry II about 1172.
While his surname was in fact, de Bermingham, it is significant to note the early use of Meyler as a forename. Myler of Tethmoy, who died in 1211, was the son of Robert of Tethmoy, (fl. 1172.)
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Meiler research. More information is included under the topic Early Meiler History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Medieval scribes and church officials spelled the names as they sounded, so a name was often spelled many different ways during the lifetime of a single person. The investigation of the origin of the name Meiler revealed many spelling variations including Meyler, Mailer, Mailler, Mayler, Meiler, Meiller, Maylor, MacMeyler, McMeyler, McMailor, McMeiler, Meilir and many more.
More information is included under the topic Early Meiler Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
In the mid-19th century, Ireland experienced one of the worst periods in its entire history. During this decade in order to ease the pressure of the soil, which was actually depleted by the effects of the previous years' grain crops, landowners forced tenant farmers and peasants onto tiny plots of land that barely provided the basic sustenance a family required. Conditions were worsened, though, by the population of the country, which was growing fast to roughly eight million. So when the Great Potato Famine of the mid-1840s hit, starvation and diseases decimated the population. Thousands of Irish families left the country for British North America and the United States. The new immigrants were often accommodated either in the opening western frontiers or as cheap unskilled labor in the established centers. In early passenger and immigration lists there are many immigrants bearing the name Meiler: