The Maughind history begins in
Cornwall, a rugged coastal region in southwestern
England. Quite distinct from
Devon, the adjoining county,
Cornwall had its own spoken language until the late 18th century. The Maughind history began here. The manner in which
hereditary surnames arose is interesting.
Local surnames were derived from where the original bearer lived, was born, or held land. Unlike most Celtic peoples, who favored
patronymic names, the Cornish predominantly used
local surnames. The Maughind family originally lived in the village of Mawgan in
Cornwall. The surname Maughind 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 Maughind family
The surname Maughind was first found in
Cornwall at St. Mawgan in Pydar or Mawgan. St. Mawgan claims its name from Mawgan, a Brythonic saint who flourished in the 5th or 6th century. Little is known about the saint and many believe that the saint is one in the same as Meugan who was listed as a saint about the same time in
Wales. As far as the place name is concerned, the earliest record of the place was as "Sanctus Mawan" in the
Domesday Book of 1086.
[1]CITATION[CLOSE]
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8) St Mawgan Monastery was an ancient monastery located here and was known to have been well established by the time of the Conquest. Mawgan-in-Meneage is a civil parish also found in Cornwall.
Early History of the Maughind family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Maughind research.
Another 129 words (9 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Maughind History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Maughind Spelling Variations
Cornish surnames are characterized by a multitude of
spelling variations. The frequent changes in surnames are due to the fact that the Old and Middle English languages lacked definite spelling rules. The official court languages, which were Latin and French, were also influential on the spelling of a surname. Since the spelling of surnames was rarely consistent in medieval times, and 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 of their surname in the ancient chronicles. Moreover, a large number of foreign names were brought into
England, which accelerated and accentuated the alterations to the spelling of various surnames. Lastly,
spelling variations often resulted from the linguistic differences between the people of
Cornwall and the rest of
England. The Cornish spoke a unique
Brythonic Celtic language which was first recorded in written documents during the 10th century. However, they became increasingly Anglicized, and Cornish became extinct as a spoken language in 1777, although it has been revived by Cornish patriots in the modern era. The name has been spelled Maugham, Maughan, Mawgam and others.
Early Notables of the Maughind family (pre 1700)
More information is included under the topic Early Maughind Notables in all our
PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Migration of the Maughind family to the New World and Oceana
In the immigration and passenger lists were a number of people bearing the name Maughind Daniel, George, Peter, William and William Maughan who all arrived in Philadelphia between 1840 and 1860; Peter Maughen arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1848..