This name is of English locational origin from a place in Godalming, Surrey, called Michen Hall. The name derives from the personal name Michen, a pet form of Michael itself coming from the hebrew meaning "Who is like God", plus the Olde English pre 7th Century "halh" a nook, recess or remote valley. The surname from this source is first recorded in the mid 14th Century, (see below). In 1583 one, Richard Mychenall appears in "The Subsidy Rolls of Surrey". The name is well recorded in Surrey Church Registers from the mid 16th Century as Mitchener, Michenor, Micheyner, Mitchner etc.. On November 10th 1549 Agnes Mitchener and John Hunte were married in Ockley and on February 21st 1580 Elizabeth daughter of Thomas Mitchener, was christened in Kingston upon Thames. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Henry de (of) Michenhale, which was dated 1347 The Place Names of Surrey, during the reign of King Edward III, The Father of the Navy, 1327 - 1377. 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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