Myhill

This interesting and unusual surname is of early medieval English origin, and is a typically eastern counties variant of the personal name "Michael", found in Norfolk, for instance as "Myhill" and "Myall". The learned form of the name was "Michael", from the Hebrew "Micha-el", meaning "who is like God" and was extremely popular name throughout medieval Europe. The vernacular forms of the name were borrowed from the Old French "Mihel", from which arose the surnames Myall, Miall, Miell and Mighill and the later, Anglo-Norman name "Michel", which survives in England as the surname "Mitchell". One William, son of William and Margaret Myuhill, was christened at St. Giles Cripplegate, London on February 4th 1655, and Richard, son of Richard and Mary Myhill, was christened in Putney, on September 1st 1732. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of John Mihell, which was dated 1524, in the "Subsidy Rolls of Suffolk", during the reign of King Henry V111, known as "Bluff King Hal", 1509 - 1547. 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.