Mayan History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The Mayan 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 Mayan 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 Mayan family originally lived in the village of Mawgan in Cornwall. The surname Mayan 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 Mayan family

The surname Mayan 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 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 Mayan family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Mayan research. Another 65 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Mayan History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Mayan 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 Mayan family

More information is included under the topic Early Mayan Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Mayan migration to the United States +

Research into the origins of individual families in North America has revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Mayan or a variant listed above:

Mayan Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Juana Mayan, aged 10, who arrived in New Orleans, La in 1849 2
Santiago Mayan, aged 39, who landed in New Orleans, La in 1859 2
Bartolome Mayan, who landed in Puerto Rico in 1878 2

Contemporary Notables of the name Mayan (post 1700) +

Mayan Antonucci, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Connecticut, 2008 3

Citations +

Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
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)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 1) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html