This name has two possible origins. The first is as an anglicized dialectal variant spelling of the Old Irish surname O'Maoil-Earca, meaning "the descendant of the devotee of St. Earc", an early 7th Century cleric and hermit, and generally found now in the modern spellings of Mullarkey of Mallachy. The second origin is believed to be Scottish and a variant form of the rare surname "Meike", itself a derivation and diminutive of Myle(s) and itself a further development of the early gaelic "Mael". There is no connection with the English "Miles", although the two are now intertwined, "Mael" translating as "Bold", whilst "Miles" is from the Latin "Mille" a soldier. The name recordings include Catherine Malkay who married John Wells at St. James Church, Paddington, London on October 14th 1838. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of George Frederick Malkie, which was dated September 29th 1845, a christening witness at St. Peters Church, Liverpool, during the reign of Queen Victoria, "The Great White Queen", 1831 - 1901. 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.

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