Recorded in several forms including Mallon, Mellon, Mellon, and Malan, this interesting name is of Irish origin. It is a development of the popular O' Malone, from the pre 10th century Gaelic surname O' maoil Eoin. This translates as 'The descendant of the devotee or follower of St. John'. The Malone's are an ancient sept, closely associated with the O'Connors of Connacht, and as such the principle family connected with the abbey of Clonmacnois, to which they provided many abbots and bishops. Unlike most old Irish septs, modern namebearers are not numerous in the territory of their origin, and Counties Clare and Wexford now have more Malones than in other areas. In the list of Famine Immigrants from 1846 - 1848 is that of James Mellon, aged twenty-two years, who sailed aboard the 'Cornelia', out of Liverpool, on November 23rd 1846, bound for the Port of New York. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Anthony Malone. This was dated (1700-1776), in Edward MacLysaght's 'Irish Families', during the reign of King George 11nd of England, and known to history as 'The Last Warrior King', 1727-1760. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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