Last name: Miles

This interesting name is English but of Norman French origins. First introduced into England at the famous Conquest of 1066, it is thought to derive from the Germanic personal name "Mild", itself possibly from the Slavic word "mil", meaning mercy. In English documents of the Middle Ages, the name normally appears in the Latin form "Milo", but the usual spoken form would have been "Mile", so we assume that the final "s" represents the possessive or patronymic ending meaning "son of Mile". Early examples of the surname recording include those of Ralph Miles in 1292. Given as being a fishmonger of Bridge Ward, it is said that he founded a charity in the name of the late Lord Milo, and subsequently adopted his masters name, whilst William Augustus Miles (1753 - 1817) was a notable political writer. He corresponded with William Pitt the Younger, and it is said suggested building a Suez Canal in 1791. However it is likely that he got the idea from the French who had thought about it much earlier. He died in Paris in 1817, where he was collecting materials for a history of the French Revolution. William Miles who died in 1860, rose to the rank of Major-General in the Indian army. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Nicholas Miles. This was dated 1177, in the Pipe Rolls of Sussex, during the reign of King Henry 11nd of England, 1154 - 1189. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

Visitor Comments

john miles
my name is john miles .i follow a direct line from george. 1680 can you help

Tristram miles
I'm Tristram miles and my great grandfather was John miles from beenham in Berkshire in the mid to late 1800s.

trojan
mile is in briton which was known as island of alba its origin is soulth eastern europe albania greece etc. you know the old saying its all greek to me. if you look up mile as a surname most will come up in albania

lenda Dean
I beleve the Sussex area is where my Miles ancestors came from, in the seventeenth century. the name William repeats over and over among these same Miles' This is my mother's line and my own son is named Miles.

Malenia Payne
my father passed away last week and we have just learned that his grandmother's maiden name might have been Miles instead of the guy she married which we now think his name was Toliver Goad. My greatgrandmother's name was Sarah Jane Miles.She was born Jan 25,1869 and died Jan 25,1944 in Tennessee. We think she gave her children her maiden name instead of her married name. Can any help.