Melland History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

• Origins Available:
• Ireland
• Scotland

Etymology of Melland

Irish surnames are all based on the Gaelic language native to Ireland. The original Gaelic form of the name Melland is Ó Meallain, which is derived from the word meall, which means pleasant.

Early Origins of the Melland family

Early History of the Melland family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Melland research. Another 80 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Melland History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Melland Spelling Variations

The Middle Ages saw a great number of spelling variations for surnames common to the Irish landscape. One reason for these variations is the fact that surnames were not rigidly fixed by this period. The following variations for the name Melland were encountered in the archives: Mallon, O'Mallon, O'Malin, O'Mellan, Malin, Mellan and many more.

Early Notables of the Melland family

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

Migration of the Melland family

In the 19th century, thousands of Irish left their English-occupied homeland for North America. Like most new world settlers, the Irish initially settled on the eastern shores of the continent but began to move westward with the promise of owning land. The height of this Irish migration came during the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s. With apparently nothing to lose, Irish people left on ships bound for North America and Australia. Unfortunately a great many of these passengers lost their lives - the only thing many had left - to disease, starvation, and accidents during the long and dangerous journey. Those who did safely arrive in "the land of opportunities" were often used for the hard labor of building railroads, coal mines, bridges, and canals. The Irish were critical to the quick development of the infrastructure of the United States and Canada. Passenger and immigration lists indicate that members of the Melland family came to North America quite early: Edward, James, Patrick, William Malin, who all arrived in Philadelphia between 1840 and 1860; Michael, and Richard Mallen arrived in Philadelphia in 1834.