Show ContentsMaces History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

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  • England
Maces Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Etymology of Maces

What does the name Maces mean?

The surname Maces came to England as a result of the Norman Conquest in 1006. The name is derived from Macé or La Ferté-Macé, a place name in Orne, France, having derived from the Old French for the Christian name Matthew 1 2 or Mathieu 3 and also meant "a staff borne as an ensign of office." 4

Early Origins of the Maces family

The surname Maces was first found in Normandy, France where William de Mes held lands (1180-1195) according to the source (Magni Rotuli Scaccarii Normanniae) 5

Early English rolls show the first entry in Bedfordshire where Richard Mace was recorded in 1229. A few years later in 1236 at Oseney (or Osney) Abbey in Oxfordshire, the singular name "Mace" with no forename was recorded in 1236. "Mace, now represented in Chipping Norton, was an Oxfordshire name in the reign of Edward I." 6

London records show Perotus de Mace there in 1319 and later in Colchester, Essex William Mace was listed in 1372. 7

Masse is recorded in the Pipe Rolls of Suffolk in 1177 and in 1194 Osbert Masse is mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Norfolk. The Curia Regis Rolls of Middlesex contain a reference to John de Maci in 1221 and Adam Mace of Oxfordshire and William Mace of Co. Buckinghamshire are recorded in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273. 8

Closely related to the Massey surname, the origins of both names are closely intertwined.

Early History of the Maces family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Maces research. Another 58 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1353, 1583, 1592, 1609, 1612, 1636, 1644, 1672, 1676, 1706, 1727, 1729 and 1753 are included under the topic Early Maces History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Maces 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 Mace, Macey, Massey and others.

Early Notables of the Maces family

Thomas Mace (c.1612-1706), an English lutenist, viol player, singer, composer and musical theorist, best known for his work "Musick's Monument" (1676.) Mace lived at Cambridge, and was one of the clerks of Trinity College. About 1636 he married a Yorkshire lady, and he was in York in 1644, when the city was besieged by the Parliamentary party. Mace was an accomplished lutenist, but suffered from deafness, and the softer tones of the lute were inaudible to him. In order to lessen the effects of his infirmity he devised, in 1672, a lute of fifty strings, which he named...
Another 97 words (7 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Maces Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Maces family

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 Maces or a variant listed above: John Macey, who came to Virginia in 1638; Rebecca Macey, who arrived in Massachusetts in 1638; Thomas Macy, who came to Newbury, MA in 1639; Cha Macy, who came to Virginia in 1662.
  1. Charnock, Richard, Stephen, Ludus Patronymicus of The Etymology of Curious Surnames. London: Trubner & Co., 60 Paternoster Row, 1868. Print.
  2. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
  3. Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
  4. Arthur, William , An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names. London: 1857. Print
  5. The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
  6. Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
  7. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  8. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)

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