Maitland is an English and Scottish surname. It arrived in Britain after the Norman conquest of 1066. There are two theories about its source. It is either a nickname reference to "bad temper/disposition" (Old French, Maltalent; Anglo Norman French, mautalent; Latin malum talentum), or it may be a locational reference to Mautalant, a place in Pontorson, France. The Brittany connection is less likely than that with Les Moitiers d'Allonne, near Carteret in the Cotentin. Mautalents continue to live in and near Les Moitiers d'Allonne, and the early mediaeval charters link the Maltalents of England and Scotland with the Morville family – originating from Morville, nr. Valonges, nearby, and Roger de Mowbray, whose family came from Aubigny, also nearby. The name gradually mutated to Mautalent and then Maitland, with the latter spelling appearing around 1250 and becoming settled in the late 14th century.
Map of Maitland NSW 2320, Australia
The earliest public record of the surname in Britain, after the Battle Abbey roll of 1066, dates to 1138 in Northumberland when Robert Maltalent witnessed a charter of Roger de Mowbray in Yorkshire.
The Clan Maitland is a lowland Scottish clan, the chief of which holds the title Earl of Lauderdale. The Earl's coat of arms features a lion rampant with all its joints cut off, forming a pun on the old version of the name (Mautalent sounding like the word 'mutilate').
People with this surname include:
Adam Maitland (1885–1949) (UK politician)Charles Maitland, 3rd Earl of Lauderdale (c. 1620–1691), Scottish judgeClover Maitland (b. 1972), Australian women's field hockey playerEdward Maitland (1824–1897), English humanitarian writerEdward Maitland (aviator) (1880–1921), British military aviatorEmma Maitland (1844–1923), British suffragistFrank Maitland (1909–2001), British Communist propagandistFrederic William Maitland (1850–1906), English jurist and historianFrederick Lewis Maitland (Royal Navy captain) (1730–1786), captain in the Royal NavyFrederick Lewis Maitland (Royal Navy rear-admiral) (1777–1839), son of the above, Rear admiral in the Royal NavyFrederick Maitland (1763–1848), English General, Napoleonic eraHenry Maitland Wilson (1881–1964), British Army generalJames Maitland, 8th Earl of Lauderdale (1759–1839), representative peer for Scotland in the House of LordsJames Maitland Stewart (1908–1997), American actor, widely known as James Stewart or Jimmy Stewart.John Maitland, 1st Lord Maitland of Thirlestane (1537–1595), Lord Chancellor of ScotlandJohn Maitland, 1st Duke of Lauderdale (1616–1682), Scottish politician, and leader within the Cabal MinistryJohn Maitland (colonel) (1732–1779), British military officerJohn Maitland (Royal Navy officer) (1771–1836), Royal Navy admiralJohn Maitland (Conservative politician) (1903–1977), British politician in the Conservative party (Tory)John Alexander Fuller Maitland (1856–1936), British music critic and scholarKier Maitland (born 1988), Canadian freestyle swimmerLady Olga Maitland (born 1944), British politicianPeregrine Maitland (1777–1854), British soldier and colonial administratorRichard Maitland (1496–1586), Scottish poet, Senator of the College of Justice, Ordinary Lord of SessionRoyal Maitland (1898–1946), Canadian politician in British ColumbiaSara Maitland (born 1950), British writerSean Maitland (born 1988), New Zealand born Scottish rugby union playerThomas Maitland (British Army officer) (1759–1824), British colonial governor and generalThomas Maitland, Lord Dundrennan (1792–1851), Scottish judgeThomas Maitland, 11th Earl of Lauderdale (1803–1878), British naval officerWilliam Maitland of Lethington (1525–1573), 'Secretary Lethington' to Mary, Queen of ScotsWilliam Maitland (c.1693–1757), historian and topographer, History of London from Its Foundation to the Present TimeIn popular culture:
Barbara and Adam Maitland, of the 1988 film Beetlejuice