Milam

Recorded in many spellings including Mealham, Milham, Milam, Mileham, Millum, and Millon, this is an English surname. It is locational from the village of Mileham in the county of Norfolk or possibly topographical from living at a "Mill house". In all case the origination is the pre 7th century Olde English "mil ham", which means Mill house or possibly Mill farm. These mills were usually water mills. Only after the 13th century were windmills introduced in some areas of the country. Locational surnames are usually "from" names. That is to say names given to people after the left their original homesteads to move somewhere else. The easiest way to identfy such strangers, was to call him or sometimes her, by the name of the place from whence they came. Spelling being at best erratic and local dialects very thick, often as with this name, lead to the development of "sounds like" spellings. Early examples of the recordings include Thomas Myleham of North Walsham, Norfolk on November 13th 1593, and in the diocese of Greater London, Barbary Millom at St Botolphs Bishopgate on October 6th 1622, and Alice Mealham, who married Richard Stark, at St Martins in the Field, Westminster, on February 26th 1823.