Merchan History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
The surname Merchan was an occupational name for a merchant having derived from the Old French, Middle English word "marchant," which in turn came from the Late Latin "mercatans." 1 2
Early Origins of the Merchan family
The surname Merchan was first found in Berkshire, England where Roger Marcand (Marchand) was listed in the Pipe Rolls of 1202. A few years later, Roger Marchaunt and Herueus Merchant were recorded in the Assize Rolls for Yorkshire in 1219. In Essex, Ranulph le Marchand was listed in the Feet of Fines for 1240, while in Cambridgeshire, Reginald le Marchant was listed in the Feet of Fines for 1247. In Somerset, Thomas le Markaund was found in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1274. 3
"Radulph Mercator held land in Dunfermline [Scotland] a. 1214, and a later Radulph Mercator was a charter witness in Dundee in 1281. Thomas called Marchand was a canon of Brechin in 1298. Morice Merchande was barber of the burgh of Dumbarton in 1456, and in 1495 there is mention of the tenement of Elizabeth Merchand there." 4
Early History of the Merchan family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Merchan research. Another 110 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1298, 1563, 1600, 1650, 1676, 1697, 1739, 1766, 1773, 1781, 1785, 1789, 1791, 1809, 1811 and 1816 are included under the topic Early Merchan History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Merchan Spelling Variations
Spelling variations of this family name include: Merchant, Merchand, Marchand, Mercator and others.
Early Notables of the Merchan family
Notable among the family at this time was
- Nathaniel Marchant (1739-1816), gem-engraver and medallist, was born in Sussex in 1739. He became a pupil of Edward Burch, R. A., and in 1766 was a member of the Incorporated Society of Artists. He we...
Merchan migration to the United States +
Some of the first settlers of this family name were:
Merchan Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
- Cristobal Merchan, who landed in Mexico in 1877 5
Contemporary Notables of the name Merchan (post 1700) +
- Marco Julio Santoyo Merchan (b. 1915), chemical engineer in Colombia
Citations +
- Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
- Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
- Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
- Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
- 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)