Myles History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The ancestors of the Myles family arrived in England following the Norman Conquest of 1066. The name Myles came from the given name Miles or Milo. 1 2 The name Myles is of Germanic origin and is derived from the Old German word mil, which meant beloved. The family name Myles was brought to England after the Norman Conquest, when William the Conqueror gave his friends and relatives most of the land formerly owned by Anglo-Saxon aristocrats. This distinguished family descended from Miles, who was the Marshall of Duke William and who held lands at Caen, Vauceles, and Venoix in Normandy. 3 The Norman conquerors imported a vast number of continental European personal names, such as the name Myles, which largely replaced traditional Old English personal names among the upper and middle classes.

Early Origins of the Myles family

The surname Myles was first found in Lincolnshire where Johannes filius Mile was listed (1150-1160.) Seventy years later, the name would be found in the Pipe Rolls of Berkshire in 1230 as Milo Noyrenuyt. 4 By the time of the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273, the listings in Bedfordshire were the most numerous: William filius Milon; and Milo le Messer. The same rolls listed: Peter Myles in Kent; Wychard Miles in Lincolnshire; and Margery Mylys in Cambridgeshire. 5 The Pipe Rolls of Sussex listed Nicholaus Miles in 1177 and the Subsidy Rolls of Yorkshire listed Nicholaus filius Miles in 1297. And then there was this interesting note confirming the relationship between Milo and Miles: “Another Ralph Miles, a fishmonger, of Bridge Ward (1292 Subsidy Rolls of London), founded a chantry for his late lord Milo, no doubt Miles de Oystergate, fishmonger.” 4