Milnes
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People with the surname Milne, Miln, Milns and Mylne are probably from the same basic clan: the earliest records were by people who couldn't write very well and the name was sometimes written variously even during a person's lifetime.
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History
The family name Milnes is believed to be descended originally from the Boernicians and as such, would be one of the earliest civilised peoples in the British Isles.
Following a battle in which the Milnes rallied all they could to the larger Clan Gordon (and were largely wiped out), that clan made Milnes a sept.
As a border clan, the Milnes were scattered during the 17th century, when law was imposed by the newly unified countries of England and Scotland. By the 19th century, they are found clustered in Yorkshire, England and Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
Meaning
Most sources agree that the meaning is to do with a mill. One specifically states that it derives from old English meaning "on living at or near a corn mill" though this doesn't fit too well with the Scottish borders origin claimed by many sources. It is likely that Milnes is a plural form based on milliner (someone who runs or owns a mill). So it would have come from people describing a family as 'the milliners' and the name gradually sticking, in corrupted form, to individuals.
"Common Aberdeenshire name derived from corn-mill. John Myll, dwelling in Aberdeenshire, 1492. Robert Myll, Arbroath witness, 1528. Gilbert Milne witnesses grant of Golspe chaplaincy, 1575."
Coat Of Arms
There are at least three different coats of arms touted to belong to the Milnes family, though some of them are only known by from commercial companies with an interest to sell engraved glasses, painted shields, t-shirts etc. The main arms are a those of a diagonal bar (bottom left to top right) over a field or (that is, a flecked background).
Although the Gordons (in the USA) recognise that Milnes and Milne are the same, at present, the Milne do no hold the same recognition. For this reason, Milnes are permitted to wear any of the Gordon tartans but not the Milne tartan.
Pronunciation
Most people with the surname Milnes pronounce it as a single syllable with the 'e' silent: "Millns". There is a large minority who pronounce it as two: "Mill-ness" or "Mill-nez".
Some famous Milnes
- Sherrill Milnes
- Richard Monckton Milnes, 1st Baron Houghton
- Robert Crewe-Milnes, 1st Marquess of Crewe
- Mrs. Anne Milnes Diaries of Mrs. Anne Lumb edited by Charles M.Gaskell. London, 1884. Country diaries (excerpts); small details of life in a Yorkshire village; deaths, births, visits, teas, etc., worked into editor's text.