Melvin

For other uses, see Melvin (disambiguation).

Melvin is a masculine given name and surname, likely a variant of Melville and a descendant of the French surname de Maleuin and the later Melwin.[1] It may alternatively be spelled as Melvyn or, in Welsh, Melfyn and the name Melivinia or Melva may be used a feminine form. Of Norman French origin, originally Malleville, which translates to "bad town," it likely made its way into usage in Scotland as a result of the Norman conquest of England.[2][3] It came into use as a given name as early as the 19th century, in English-speaking populations.

  1. ^ "Geoffrey de Maleuin, 1161-3, 1165-71" Percy Hide Reaney, Richard Middlewood Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames (1991).
  2. ^ "David Melvin was a member of the Scots Charitable Society of Boston in 1692, and James Melvin settled in East New Jersey in 1685." David Dobson, The Scottish Surnames of Colonial America (2003), p. 105.
  3. ^ Campbell, Mike. "Meaning, origin and history of the Name Melville". Behind the Name. Archived from the original on 2018-11-01. Retrieved 2018-10-31.