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The surname Melis is a name that was carried to England in the great wave of migration from Normandy following the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Melis family lived in Melhuish in Devon. The surname Melis is a habitation name that was originally derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads. The surname originated as a means of identifying individuals from a particular area. In the Middle Ages people often assumed the name of the place that they originally lived as their surname during the course of travel.
The surname Melis was first found in Devon where Testa de Nevill, sive Liber Feodorum, temp. Henry III-Edward I. lists: William de Melehywis; and John de Melewis. 1
The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 listed Elinora de Melhywys, Devon. 2
"Melhuish or Melluish is a very ancient Devonshire name. In the Hundred Rolls we read of Elenora de Melhywys, of Melhywys, a seat in the barony of Okehampton. Thomas Melhinche of this county (evidently a misprint for Melhuishe) contributed £25 for the defence of his country at the time of the invasion of the Spanish Armada in 1588 (Sp.). A gentle family of Melhuish resided at Witheridge in the 16th and 17th centuries (W.). Richard Melhuish was a Tiverton churchwarden in 1656 (D.). Richard Melhuish was mayor of Barnstaple in 1708 (G.). The name still occurs in Witheridge and Tiverton." 3
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Melis research. Another 171 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1350, 1527, 1564, 1588, 1643, 1647, 1655, 1657, 1674, 1730, 1751, 1771, 1773, 1814, 1822, 1877 and 1887 are included under the topic Early Melis History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Spelling variations of this family name include: Mellish, Mellise, Melersh, Mellersh, Melluish, Melish, Mellersh, Mellis, Melliss, Meliss, Melles, Meles, Malis, Malise and many more.
Notable amongst the family at this time was Hugh Mellis (fl. 1588), English mathematician, had from his youth, as he himself informs us, a natural genius for drawing proportions, maps, cards, buildings, and plates. He attended Dr. Robert Forth at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, and went to the arithmetic lecture in the common school. He left the service of Forth, who afterwards became a master in chancery, about 1564. Subsequently he kept...
Another 71 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Melis Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
In France, the name Melis is the 5,286th most popular surname with an estimated 1,000 - 1,500 people with that name. 5 However, in Netherlands, the name Melis is ranked the 822nd most popular surname with an estimated 2,384 people with that name. 6