Hall of Names - Search Your History (Coat of Arms and Family Surname Search Engines)
MILLIS is of British and/or Irish origin. [?]
"...The history of this ancient Devonshire family traces its ancestry as a family of Cornish origin before the year 1100 and appears first in the ancient records in Devonshire..."

Components of the Millis Family Name Coat of Arms
The Shield: Silver on a black diagonal stripe three silver Fleur-de-Lis.
The Crest: A bent arm and hand holding an arrow.
The motto: None
--

See also Coats of Arms (Family Crests) & Surname Histories (Do a search for MILLIS)

An example of a Millis coat-of-arms (via houseofnames.com) [?]

Your Family Crest
"According to our research, the origin of the name Millis is English and the Coat of Arms contains Silver on a black bend three silver fleur de lis. The Crest is A bent arm and hand holding an arrow.
Spelling variations include: Melhuish, Melhuiss, Mellish, Mellise, Melersh, Mellersh, Melluish, Mellhuish, Mellhuiss, Melish, Mellersh, Mellis, Melliss, Meliss, Melles, Meles, Malis, Malise and many more. [!?]
First found in Devonshire where they were seated from ancient times as Lords of the Manor of Melhuish in that shire, some say, well before the Norman Conquest of England in 1066 A.
Some of the first settlers of this name or some of its variants were: Aron Melish who settled in Boston Mass. in 1716; Andrew Meliss landed in Philadelphia Pa. in 1811; John and Frederick Mellish settled in New Castle County, Del. in 1854; Al and Alfred Mellersh l and others."

Stuff you need to know:
Anthology: Mists of Antiquity

14 JUN 1999
...from Laura Flanagan, USA:
"I'm sorry for taking so long in getting back to you. My mother is a MILLIS. Her father (James Melvin) was born in a small town (if you can call it a town) in Mississippi, a place called Shivers. His father and grandfather was also born in the same small town as well. As for myself, I live in Lubbock, TX. I am not sure about the origin (what country) the name Millis is from. I have seen the name all over the world, including England, and Germany. I haven't had much luck (in researching) with the name because it is so uncommon.
(...) Sorry, we aren't jewish. Most of the Millis' (that I know of) have been Baptist."
Laura Flanagan

28 JUN 1999
...from Julie Matthews Burnette, USA:
Ancestors of Julie Matthews Burnette
[Levin MILLIS]
Born in Talbout County, Maryland about 1800.
Died in LaGrange County, IN on Aug 02, 1840.

3 JUL 1999
...from Rita Millis, USA:
Dear Lucian,
"It was good to hear from you! Millis is a hard name to trace, but this is what we definitely know about our Millis line.
My husband's ancestor, Joseph Millis, son of John, was born in North Carolina in 1823 and he had two brothers that we know, Edward who never married and we don't have dates for him, and Sanford who married Sarah Phillippe. These 3 brothers were in Wythe County, VA in the early 1840's. While there, Joseph married Sarah Spraker and shortly after the marriage the 3 brothers along with several Wythe County families (most of German descent) trekked west. Some stopped in southern Indiana, but Joseph and Sanford and some of the other families came on into southern Illinois and settled in Clark County where my husband's family lived. William Edward, son of Joseph and Sarah Spraker Millis was my husband's 2 gg father. William Edward's son, Ernest Elwood Millis was my husband's grandfather, and Ernest Elwood's son, Buell was my husband's father. We think this Millis family came from England to Maryland, then on to North Carolina to the Guilford and Davidson county area. Then, Joseph and his 2 brothers moved a little north to Virginia and then came west.
...In the US we are often called Mills, Miller, or Willis. I have some information that says that Millis is Flemish, and I have found a lot of people named Millis in England back into the 1500's. Unfortunately, I can't even connect to North Carolina or Maryland in the 1700's.
Do you have any Millis connections in the USA? We will be glad to hear from you again."
Rita Millis

Gray Family, Ireland-USA, Presbyterians and Methodists.
Robert Gray (1814-1881) m. Mary Millis Wiley (1818-1904)

Marvin's [Millis] Research [!]

[Jakob MILIS ?]
Born in Izmir, Turkey.
Died in Tirat-Hacarmel, Israel.

From: Hanna Millis - USA (thanks Hannah!)
To: Lucian Millis
Date: 22 AUG 2000

Shalom from Florida,
"I will begin with my paternal grandparents, Chana and Moses Millis, who came to Philadelphia, Pa. from Russia about 1879. They had 8 children, as follows: Abraham, Louis, Ida, Rose, Benjamin, David, Bella and William. David, my father, married his first cousin, Bella Millis. I had a brother, Shay (Millis). All the above are deceased.
My mother, Bella Millis, came to Philadelphia from Mogilev-Podolsky, Ukraina. [!]
She had 2 sisters, Olga and Anna.
Shay Millis had two sons, Barry Millis and Robert Millis. Barry has 3 children - Adam, Abby and Josh. William had 2 sons, Irving and Jerry. I have 2 children - a son, David Lissy; and a daughter Barbara Lissy. David has 3 children - Jessica, Micah and Rachel. Jessica spent a year in Jerusalem, studying Talmud and Jewish Literature. My daughter,Barbara, has 2 daughters, Ellen and Ruth. My children and grandchildren have all been to Israel several times.
My daughter is the Executive Director for the United States for Sports for Israel. Therefore, she goes to Israel very often and will be there in February. Perhaps you and she can get together.
Hope the above will help in your search in the surname Millis."
Hannah [Hannah Millis - USA - thanks Hannah!]
[see Discovery #17]

From: Marvin Millis (via Ken Millis - Australia - thanks Ken!)
To: Lucian Millis
Date: Sat, 10 MAR 2001

[Martin Millis]

Dear Lucien,
"When I began looking for my father's family line in England back in 1991, I consulted various UK telephone directories for Millis addresses. One of these was for Jersey, Channel Islands. There I contacted one Martin Millis. Martin explained to me that he traced back to a Millis family of Greece and Romania. His great grandfather was a Rabbi. I still have the letters in which he explains the family situation. He did not give names, but mentioned that there were seven brothers :- four remained in Romania; two went to the US [!] and one to London. If you provide me with a postal address, I shall mail you Martin's correspondence."
Regards,
Marvin [Marvin Millis - Canada - thanks Marvin!]

From: Marvin Millis - Canada
To: Lucian Millis - Israel
Date: 13 MAR 2001

Hi Lucian,
"I don't have the parentage of Martin Millis through the GRO (General Register Office), however there was Moritz (Moise) Millis who married Rachel Kohn in 1924 and had a daughter Zena (Tzena) who later married a Martin Millis. [!]
I also have something on a family whose mother was Ginsberg. But the place that has the GRO fiche does not have a full set, so I don't have every last birth/marriage/death reference.
I will write down the references I have and send them along with Martin's letters. Incidentally, he said that his name was more like Moritz and that the Hebrew would be Moise."
Regards,
Maarvin [Marvin Millis - Canada - thanks Marvin!]

From: Marvin Millis
To: Lucian Millis
Date: Wed, 11 APR 2001

Hi Lucian,
"I have just looked at your back-to-back emails.
There are no Millis connections between your line, Walter's line [Discovery #12, #12A and #12B] or mine. In the 1600s in England my family surname was variously written as Millist - Millest - Millish - Mellish - and even Mellersh. I believe I commented on this in a previous email.
Some things you need to understand about England are: In the past there came to be many regional accents; also, writing was done by the priveleged few - especially clergy (who kept the birth/marriage/death registers; also lawyers, accountants and councilmen. The majority of the common labourers or farmers had no knowledge of writing.
Walter's line, being of Holland (Friesland) was originally Melius - Milius. I came in contact with Walter in 1991 when he was working out of London ... .
Walter says that the "founder" of the town of Millis in Massachussetts is of another branch of his line.
In Toronto, Canada my sister came across another Millis family. They are actually Greek (no Jewish connection).
In England there are other Millis family lines that do not connect to mine. One line is in the 'Midlands' (Leicester, Warwick &c.;) and another is of Kent co.
There are a lot of Millises out there - the majority having that name spelling being in the US. But they are of several unconnected origins.
I hope this clears the matter up a bit."
Cheers,
Marvin - Canada - [thanks Marvin!]

Aromanian Vlachs: The Vanishing Tribes [?] ... Metzovo - Greece

From: Marvin Millis - Canada
To: Lucian Millis - Israel
Date: Wed, 14 MAR 2001

Hi Lucian,
"I am just now posting Martin's notes to you, along with a covering letter. I just had a look at your Millis web page and recognize some of the families.
Millis-Gray of North Carolina [Discovery #4 and #5] has a larger related branch. Several years ago I uncovered a false assumption by a member of the related branch that the family were descendants of English Aristocracy!

The Jewish MILLIS contact was a surprise in a way; however I had come across the name of Mrs Sol (Solomon) MILLIS in Skokie (Chicago North), Illinois. [?] She may still be there.
Try http://www.teldir.com
There are literally thousands of Millises in the US and of various European countries. In many cases the original surname was Anglicized."
Cheers,
Marvin

From: Art Hillier - USA
To: Lucian Millis - Israel
Date: 23 MAR 2000

Hi,
"This may be useless to you, but I lived for 27 years in MILLIS, Massachusetts. The town was named for its founder Lansing MILLIS [Discovery #13] and has a fairly large Jewish population. It was a Jewish resort area in the middle of the 1900s. [!]
I don't have any other information, but I have found in my own case that sometimes seemingly unrelated facts can lead to new areas of research."
Regards,
Art Hillier [thanks Art!]
--
Researching Hillier, Ward, Cooper, Potter, Finnegan, Speer, Bush, Bonney, Cubby in the USA and the UK.

[MILLIS is a suburban industrial town in the Charles River Valley, incorporated in 1885. The community is situated in southeastern Massachusetts, 15 miles southwest of Boston and 30 miles southeast of Worcester. First settled in 1658, the town's early economy was based largely on agriculture and grazing. The home of Lansing Millis, for whom the town is named, was called Oak Grove Farm, and the oak tree is also the symbol on the town seal.]

From: Walter Millis - USA
To: Lucian Millis - Israel
Date: 6 APR 2001

Hi,
"My ancestor, Johan Millis emigrated to the Hudson River Dutch colony near Albany, New York in about 1680. He came from Germany (according to one source) or Holland (according to another). It's quite possible he could have had roots in Rumania [?]. Anyhow, if you'd like what information I have, I'll be happy to send it to you."
Regards,
Walter Millis [thanks Walter!]

From: Walter Millis - USA
To: Lucian Millis - Israel
Date: 8 APR 2001

Hi Lucian:
"Here's my basic info. It's a letter from my paternal grandfather, Col John Millis, US Army Corps of Engineers, retired, to a friend of his named Beach in which Grandfather lays out the result of his genealogical researches tracing his family in the New World. I append a brief history (Grandfather is pretty long-winded but interesting, at least to me!) -
Abt 1680 -- early Millises in the Albany, New York area, probably Dutch, but possibly German in origin. [!]
Aug 10 1813 John W. Millis (born June 22 1790 at Pine Plains NY) married Christina Knickerbocker. Their son: Walter Millis, born July 20, 1819 in Taghkanick, NY. Married Jane Clark Carlow. They departed to Wheatland Michigan. Walter died in 1912 at Wheatland. He had two sons: John Millis and Wade Millis. John married Mary Raoul, producing Ralph, Walter and Janet. Walter produced me and Sarah McCoy. I married Alison MacKay and had three sons: Andrew John, Peter Franklin and Robert Daniel."
-- Walter Millis [thanks Walter!]

From: Walter Millis - USA
To: Lucian Millis - Israel
Date: Tue, 10 APR 2001

"Hi: I thought about a connection with Romania because I thought I saw on your site that you had Romanian connections, and I was trying to indicate that it didn't look as though my branch of the Millis name had much connection with yours -- although some of those early European guys got around pretty well. In any case, my name was probably Mileus originally, like the Dutch artist Jan Mileus. That, incidentially, is my grandfather's name, John Millis, in Dutch. [?] Cheers"
-- Walter Millis [thanks Walter!]

Naming the Town of Millis by Gordon E. Hopper (broken/dead link, Feb 2005)
"MILLIS - Here is the story of the man which[sic] the town of Millis was named for. He was Lansing Millis, a man born on Sept. 3, 1823 [Died: 6 Apr 1885] in the town of Lansingburgh, N.Y. ... The coming of this man of large business ability and experience to a retired country village was the event of the century in local history. Millis loved the place, its quiet, its green fields and its healthy inspiring air and he became a farmer."

Barnum Family Genealogy
Ruth MILLIS [?], born: 1915. (Gravestone in Lynhaven Cemetery)

From: Paul Millis - U.K.
To: Lucian Millis - Israel
Date: 19 AUG 2001 (and 24 SEP 2001)

"Thanks for Marvin Millis' email address.
... Basically, it seems my family originated in Kingston-upon-Thames, UK, when the surname Millest (Richard Millest: b. ?, d. 1675, Cobham, U.K.) got corrupted first into Millist (Thomas), then Millis in 1710 (Richard). ... Alfred James b. 1828 emigrated to Australia in 1857.
... Marvin's research."
-- Paul Millis [thanks Paul!]

From: Demetrios Millis - Canada
To: Lucian Millis - Israel
Date: 22 JAN 2002

"I was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. My parents were both born in Greece, immigrating to Canada in the late 1960's. I would like to get more information on my family tree. Please respond. Thank you"

From: Barbara Lissy - USA
To: Lucian Millis - Israel
Date: 14 JUNE 2002

"My great grandparents Moses and Chana Millis came to Philadelphia sometime around 1880-1890. They had eight children, all of whom appear to have settled in Philadelphia. Abraham, Rose, Ida, Benjamin, Louis, David, Bella and William.
I am the granddaughter of David Millis. David Millis married his first cousin who came to Philadelphia after 1900. She was also name Bella and her parents were Y'shaya and wife's name unknon. She was one of three sisters all of whom settled in Philadelphia - Olga, Bella and Annie.
We are interested in making contact with any of the Millis family - or any who might be family members.
David Millis had two children Shay and Hannah [see Discovery #7]. His sister Bella married someone Fixman and had 2 children Hannah (Rubin) and Isadore. William had two sons Jerry and Irving."
[thanks Barbara!]

From: William David Millis - USA
To: Lucian Millis - Israel
Date: 25 August 2006

"My name is William David Millis. I am from Philadelphia. My father is Jerome (Jerry) Stanley Millis, a son of William and Alice Millis, and a brother of Mike (Irving) Millis. My understanding is that William's father was Moses and that Moses' father was Moshe. It is also my understanding that Moses had a brother named Solomon. I am eager to confirm my understanding and to learn more about Moses, Moshe and other Millis' in the US, UK and Romania. Looks forward to hearing from you.
[thanks Will!]

From: Liana (Millis) Radway - Canada
To: Lucian Millis - Israel
Date: 29 JUN 2002

"I'm still looking for information on my Dad John Frederick Millis's ancestors. Dad was born in Wakaw, Saskatchewan, Canada. His Dad Percy Frederick Millis was born 15 April 1891 in Doncaster, England. Can't seem to find any records of his or his brothers and sisters. Anyway you take care and be careful. Thanks Liana"

MILLIS Confederate Roster (PDF file)

MILLIS North Carolina Marriages [Early to 1800] (PDF file):

Millis Elizabeth (with John Jackson, 22 APR 1799, Guilford)
Millis James (with Mary Jackson, 03 DEC 1785, Guilford)
Millis John (with Rachel Hignit, 26 NOV 1788, Guilford)
Millis Moses (with Elizabeth Roberts, 05 OCT 1796, Carteret)
Millis Nichason (with Nancy Snow, 18 MAY 1799, Guilford)

Millis-Armfield Cemetery (James Nicholson Millis and his wife Elizabeth Armfield Millis) »

From: Joseph Millis - U.K.
To: Lucian Millis - Israel
Date: 9 SEP 2002

"Mervyn (Menachem) MILLIS b:1925, London; d: 1991, Rechovot, Israel. (...)"
[Thanks Joseph!]

From: David Millis - England/U.K.
To: Lucian Millis - Israel
Date: 11 SEP 2002

" ... Several days ago I was surfing the net and I came across your website. What a wonderful surprise. Looking at the family tree it appears that you are Heinerich Millis's grandson and that we are cousins. I will try to explain. [...] It seems the names Moritz, Moise, Moshe, David, Samuel, Carol, Zipora and Dina appear in almost every generation of Millises (each naming their children after parents or granparents). It is therefore very easy to inadvertently get the relationships wrong. ... It therefore seems that we are cousins through both my paternal and maternal grandfathers as both were brothers of your grandfather Heinerich Millis. ... Amongst family papers I have been going through I have found a photograph of your grandparents: Bertha and Heinerich, taken in 1913 in Pitesti [!!] . They are a very fine looking couple and look very happy together. If you would like me to send it to you please also e-mail your address in Israel. ... I estimate that our two branches of the family have not been in contact for 40 or 50 years. Hopefully we will make sure that does not happen again."
[Thanks David!]

From: Surname Origins Index (by Simone Haslam, Simone's Family Genealogy)

Miles » English, Jewish [ ? ]

1 - Derived from a shortened Old French version of Michael.
2 - Derived from the latin word 'miles' meaning soldier. Given to servants or employees.
3 - Derived from the Germanic first name Milo. (Chester & Robb, p.458)
--

See also:
Jewish Naming Convention in Angevin England (by Eleazar ha-Levi)
A Dictionary of Period Russian Names
Behind the Name (Etymology and History of First Names)
History of Jewish Family Names (by Saul Zeichner)
Bibliography of Name Histories by Swyrich (Knowledge Base, HouseofNames.com)

From: David Millis - England/U.K.
To: Lucian Millis - Israel
Date: 26 SEP 2003

" ... The bit about Turkish coffee reminds me of something from my childhood. When I was a young boy (5 to 10 years old) and visited my father [Martin] in Kensington, his father Samuel - my paternal grandfather and also a brother of your grandfather Heinerich and my mother's father Moritz - used to make wonderful Turkish coffee and bring it to us all first thing in the morning, it was something of a tradition. I am trying to find a photograph of Samuel to send to you for the archive. I am also trying to find further photographs and other information for the Family Website."
[Thanks David!]

From: David B. Milles - Stacy, Minnesota, USA
To: Lucian Millis - Israel
Date: 08 DEC 2003

"I just found this site. My father's family were jewish emigrants from Russia or the Ukraine ca. 1900. The family originally settled in Philadelphia, PA and I'm reasonably certain our original name was spelled MILLIS. The earliest ancestor I have been able to confirm is Morris Millis [Moses ?]... however, I have no birth information for him and only know that he died in Philadelphia, PA (date unknown). His son (my great-grandfther) was Abraham Milles of Philadelphia, PA. Abraham was born on January 25, 1876 in Russia or the Ukraine and died in Phila., PA on July 28, 1918. I have no other data on our family name or ancestors before Morris and his son Abraham. Any information you might have would be most appreciated.
Thank you,
David B. Milles"
[Thanks David!]
[see Discovery #7 and #17]

From: Winston Millis (Marvin) - Canada
To: Lucian Millis - Israel
Date: 01 MAY 2004

"[...] Of particular importance was the recent lecture session regarding the Palatine German emigration of 1709 to Ireland and New York which was held by BCGS on April 3rd. I happened to mention Walter Millis's New York ancestor to the lecturer, Hank Jones, and Hank told me that the Milius family were Palatine, not Dutch (!). I am enclosing the information that Hank provided in his 2 volume Palatine Families of New York. I have put a mark beside the name of Wilhelm Milius who was the father of John William Millis, Walter's ancestor. So that is the latest Millis news.
Cheers,
Marvin"
[Thanks Marvin!]
[see Discovery #8 B]

From: David Millis - England/U.K
To: Lucian Millis - Israel
Date: 30 DEC 2004

"[...] I have just had a look at the Family Website and can see your recent additions for our great uncle Julius (via Yehuda Mor) and for Solomon Millis and the picture of Mervyn Millis. I remember Mervyn and his wife Daphne (a very nice and warm lady), they attended my bar-mitzvah. The website grows and grows, it really is remarkable. I sent a Christmas email to Marvin in Canada wishing him well for the new year. He replied saying that his researches have uncovered some further Millis relations of his in England. It really is amazing what he manages to dig up.
Much love and best wishes,
David and Annie"
[Thanks David!]

From: Richard Millis - England/U.K
To: Lucian Millis - Israel
Date: 09 JAN 2005

"I have done a lot of researching of the Millis name. My research leads me to believe that Millis is an English derived name because [!] Langhorn castle in England is of a Millis derived name [!?]. John Rolfe who married Pocahauntas was a decendent of the Millis name. A Famous war heroe from England who fought for the Americans in the American Revolution was named Captain John Millis. Mark Twain (aka Samuel LANGHORN Clemens) was also a decendent of the Millis name [!?]. I believe that Millis is only English derived and names like Millest are either mistakes or have no relation at all to the Millis name.
Richard Millis"
[Thanks Richard!]
[John Millis, see Discovery #12 A]
[Winston Millis (Marvin) - Canada - 15 JAN 2005: "Well, the Langhorn Castle matter is something to look into. It is something new to me.
I don't know of the Revolutionary war Captain that Richard speaks of - however Col. John Millis of the US Army Corps of Engineers (b. 1868) was descended from the palatine German Johann Jacob Milges (changed to Milius). He came to America in 1710 along with numerous other palatine families. This is Walter Millis's ancestor.
As for Millest being a "mistake", I hardly think so! There was a whole clan of Millest/Mellish around Chertsey in Surrey long before my ancestor, Richard Millest (b. ca. 1625). Another contact suggested to me that the name signified something like "people of {or from over} the hill" and that they had come into Surrey from Cornwall at some time in the distant past. But there are other distinct Millis lines (e.g. Midlands and Kent) which have no connection to the Surrey family. The origin of the Millis name in these various groups is still unknown."]
[Thanks Marvin!]
[David MILLEST - England/U.K - 19 JAN 2005: "Unfortunately the only genealogical info I had was in the possesion of an uncle and was unfortunately lost when he passed away. This was something he had drawn up by a company sometime ago and I remember reading it and coming across references to FRANCE and the Huguenots¹ and migration in to ENGLAND, this would tie in with your links to the name or name group refering to 'those from the outside or over the hill'." (?)]
[Thanks David!]
[Winston Millis (Marvin) - Canada - 28 JAN 2005: "I did have contact with Owen Gibbins² a couple of years ago. He is descended from Robert Millis³ [AKA: Robert Millhouse (!)] of the Leicestershire Millises. Robert married Catherine Ann Kerr (or Carr) and had family. He was in the Military. After he came out he took his family to New Zealand. Robert's siblings continued to live in Leicester city and vicinity.
The Melhuish coat-of-arms, as noted in your item #1, (Taunton, co. Somerset, and co. Devon) is listed in Burke's Armorial General. However there is a different Melhuish coat-of-arms listed as well (no specific area of residence given). This latter bears a Martlet and a Dagger. Also, there are three Mellish coats-of-arms. One is of London, Ragnold, co. Nottingham, and Sanderstead, Surrey. Another is of Blythe, co. Nottingham; and the third is of Hamels, co. Hertford. These are similar, each bearing two Swans⁴.
I have given up the notion that the Millest/Mellist/Millish/Mellish of Surrey county are descendants of the Melhuish of Devon."]
[Thanks Marvin!]

Stuff you need to know:
Timeline for the History of Judaism
A Chronology of the Jews in Britain