This interesting and unusual surname has two possible origins. Firstly it may be a French diminutive of "Miles", from the Germanic personal name "Milo", which was introduced into England by the Normans in the form "Miles", soldier. The name may also be a variant of "Millet", a metonymic occupational name for a grower or seller of millet or panic grass, from the old French "mil". The personal name "Milo" is first recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086, while "Milot" the given name first appears in 1248, in Select Documents of the English Lands of the Abbey of Bec. One Roger Millot was recorded in the Hundred Rolls of Nottinghamshire in 1275, while Richard Mileth was listed in 1279, in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire. Willelmns Melot was mentioned in the Poll Tax Records of Yorkshire in 1379. At Flixton in Lancashire Alice, daughter Rondell Millote was christened on June 18th 1581. John and Harriot Millott's daughter Amelia was christened at Manchester Cathedral on June 15th 1800, while Elizabeth Millott was christened at Flixton on November 25th 1810. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Hugo Milot, which was dated 1206, Curia Rolls of Norfolk, during the reign of King John known as "Lackland", 1199 - 1216. 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.