Millis History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
The surname Millis is a name that was carried to England in the great wave of migration from Normandy following the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Millis family lived in Melhuish in Devon. The surname Millis 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.
Early Origins of the Millis family
The surname Millis 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
Up in Scotland, the name is a "form of Malise. Gillemycell Malys, 'tailyoer,' is in record in 1481, and John Males was tenant in Strathdee in 1527. Robert Malies was tenant of Hiltoun of Birneth (Birnie) in 1565, and in 1643 there is entry of payment for ale to John Malleis in Aberdeen. The northern surname Lees is probably a curtailed form of this name." 4
Early History of the Millis family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Millis 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 Millis History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Millis Spelling Variations
Spelling variations of this family name include: Mellish, Mellise, Melersh, Mellersh, Melluish, Melish, Mellersh, Mellis, Melliss, Meliss, Melles, Meles, Malis, Malise and many more.
Early Notables of the Millis family
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 Millis Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Millis Ranking
In the United States, the name Millis is the 11,817th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 5
Millis migration to the United States +
Some of the first settlers of this family name were:
Millis Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
- Abigall Millis, who landed in Virginia in 1656 6
- John Millis, who arrived in Maryland in 1659 6
Millis Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
- Christian Millis, who landed in Washington County, Pennsylvania in 1857 6
Millis migration to Australia +
Emigration to
Australia followed the
First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:
Millis Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
- Adelaide Millis, aged 20, a servant, who arrived in South Australia in 1855 aboard the ship "Taymouth Castle" 7
Contemporary Notables of the name Millis (post 1700) +
- Walter Millis (1899-1968), American editorial and staff writer for the New York Herald Tribune (1924 to 1954)
- Keith Dwight Millis (1915-1992), American metallurgical engineer, inventor of ductile iron
- Harry Alvin Millis (1873-1948), American civil servant, economist, and educator from Paoli, Indiana
- Jack Millis (b. 1928), American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from North Carolina, 2004 8
- Harry A. Millis, American Democratic Party politician, Member, National Labor Relations Board, 1940-45; Chair, National Labor Relations Board, 1940-45 8
- Frank Millis, American Republican politician, Indiana State Auditor, 1950-54 8
- Leslie Millis (1881-1950), Australian rules footballer
- Nancy Fannie Millis AC (b. 1922), Australian microbiologist from Melbourne
- Major-General Sir Millis Rowland Jefferis KBE, MC (1899-1963), English General, founder of a special unit of the British Ministry of Supply known as MD1
Historic Events for the Millis family +
HMS Royal Oak
- Ronald Millis (1919-1939), British Marine with the Royal Marine aboard the HMS Royal Oak (1939) when she was torpedoed by U-47 and sunk; he died in the sinking 9
Citations +
- Testa de Nevill or "Liber Feodorum" or "Book of Fees," thought to have been written by Ralph de Nevill, for King John (1199–1216)
- Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
- Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
- 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)
- "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
- 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)
- South Australian Register Tuesday 26th June 1855. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) Taymouth Castle 1855. Retrieved http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/australia/taymouthcastle1855.shtml
- The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 12) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
- Ships hit by U-boats crew list HMS Royal Oak (08) - (Retrieved 2018 February, 9th) - retrieved from https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/crews/ship68.html