Show ContentsMahey History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

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Mahey Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Etymology of Mahey

What does the name Mahey mean?

The history of the Mahey family name begins after the Norman Conquest of 1066. They lived in Norfolk. Their name, however, derives from the family's place of residence prior to the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, Mayeux, Normandy. 1

Alternatively the name could have been "an Anglo-French form of Matthew." 2 3 4

Early Origins of the Mahey family

The surname Mahey was first found in Berkshire where Geoffrey Maheu was listed c. 1240. A few years later, William Mahu was recorded in the Subsidy Rolls for Sussex in 1296 and William Mayhew was found in Colchester in 1351. Later again, John Mayho was recorded in Kent in 1428 and John Mayhow and William Mayo were both listed in the Subsidy Rolls for Suffolk in 1524. 5

Early History of the Mahey family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Mahey research. Another 92 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1569, 1593, 1600, 1621, 1625, 1631, 1642, 1644, 1673, 1681, 1682, 1696, 1697, 1700, 1710 and 1758 are included under the topic Early Mahey History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Mahey Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. When the Normans became the ruling people of England in the 11th century, they introduced a new language into a society where the main languages of Old and later Middle English had no definite spelling rules. These languages were more often spoken than written, so they blended freely with one another. Contributing to this mixing of tongues was the fact that medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, ensuring that a person's name would appear differently in nearly every document in which it was recorded. The name has been spelled Mayhew, Mahewe, Mahugh, Mayhugh, Mayhuys, Mayhue and others.

Early Notables of the Mahey family

Edward Mayhew (1569-1625), an English Benedictine. His family was Mayhew or Mayow from Winton, near Salisbury, Wiltshire. Governor Thomas Mayhew, the Elder (1593-1682) established the first European settlement in Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket and adjacent islands in 1642. He is one of the editors of the Bay Psalm Book, the first book published in the Thirteen Colonies. He was born in Tisbury, Wiltshire in England and married Anna (also called Hanna and Abigail) Parkhurst, born about 1600, in Hampshire, England. In 1621 they had a son, Thomas, the Younger, baptised in Hanna's home town of Southampton. Two years later they had another...
Another 188 words (13 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Mahey Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Mahey family

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that plagued their homeland made the frontiers of the New World an attractive prospect. Thousands migrated, aboard cramped disease-ridden ships. They arrived sick, poor, and hungry, but were welcomed in many cases with far greater opportunity than at home in England. Many of these hardy settlers went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Among early immigrants bearing the name Mahey or a variant listed above were: Thomas Mayhew, who settled in Salem with his wife in 1630; and John Mayhew, who settled in Rappahannock in 1727.

The Mahey Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Sola in Deo salus
Motto Translation: Safety in God alone.
  1. 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)
  2. Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
  3. Barber, Henry, British Family Names London: Elliot Stock, 62 Paternoster Row, 1894. Print.
  4. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
  5. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)

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