Recorded as Trevelyan, Trevellyan,Trevallion, Trevillion, Trevillian, and others, this is an English surname It originates from the Celtic county of Cornwall, and is locational from any of the places named with the elements, "tre", meaning a homestead or settlement, and a fused form of "melin", meaning a mill. The place names include Trevelyan, an estate in the parish of St. Veep, and Trevellion near Bodmin in the parish of Luxulian. Such locational surnames were usually acquired either by the lord of the manor as shown below, or by former inhabitants who had moved to another area, usually in search of work, and were thereafter best identified by the name of their birthplace. The Trevelyan family have held the manor from which they derive their name for centuries, and a notable ancestor was Sir John Trevelyan, High Sheriff of Cornwall in the reign of Henry V1 (1422 - 1471). 16th Century recordings from Cornish Church Registers include: the christening of Aba Trevyllian at Mawgan in Meneage, in 1562; the christening of Anne, daughter of John Trevillion, at North Tamerton, on June 18th 1572; and the marriage of Avyes Trevillian and John Tomking at Withiel, on February 28th 1591. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Nichoals de Trevelyan, which was dated circa 1285, in "Records of the Manor of Trevelyan", Cornwall, during the reign of King Edward 1, known as "The Hammer of the Scots", 1272 - 1307. 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.

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