Recorded as Malling, Mealand, Meeland, Mealing, Mealin, Melyns and others, this is an English surname. It is almost certainly locational from the villages of Malling, found in the south east of England. The first village which is actually two, East and West Malling in Kent, derives from the Mealingas, a people know to have inhabited the area in the 8th century. The name is also found in such places as Malo, in France. The village is recorded as early as 976 a.d. whilst in the county of Sussex the similarly named village is also recorded as Meallinges, although not until 1322. It has also been suggested that the name may derive from the Lancashire village of Melling, however this seems unlikely as the surname in any spelling is not recorded in the county until the 18th century. Examples of the recording include Ann Mealin who married Thomas Nicholls at St Mary Le Bone, London, on August 26th 1669, Elias Mealing, who was christened at St Andrews Church, Holborn, on August 28th 1703, and Edward and Mary Mealand, at Argyle Independent Church, Bath, on October 10th 1794. The first recorded spelling of the family name is that of John de Melyns. This was dated 1307, in the Curia Regis roll of Surrey, during the reign of King Edward 11nd of England, 1307 - 1327. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.