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Melua (/ˈmɛluː.ə/ ) is a family name originating in Georgia, specifically the Mingrelia region around the city of Zugdidi (Georgian: მელუა); it belongs to Orthodox Christian culture.
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Usually Georgian etymologists consider that the surname came from the word melia (sometimes mela), meaning fox. Other surnames derived from the word melia are Meluava, Meliava, Meliva and Meladze. In French the surname is written Méloua.
19th century
Groups with the surname Melua migrated from the Mingrelia region to the Guria region (around the town of Ozurgeti) to farm and breed horses, to Imereti (around the town of Kutaisi), and to Tbilisi.
20th century
Some individuals bearing this name sought refuge abroad after the Red Army invaded the country.
During the Soviet years, groups with the surname Melua migrated from Mingrelia, Guria and Tbilisi to Batum, Kiev, Moscow and Leningrad, for education and universities, but also for jobs.
After the return of Georgian sovereignty and the civil war, in 1991, a lot of people left the country and migrated; some with the surname Melua moved to Great Britain or to the United States, looking for a better life.
21st century
Today, there are Georgian, American, British, French and Russian people with the surname Melua:
There are people bearing the name living in western Europe, children of Elie Melia :
There were and there are Meliavas living in western Europe, children of Alexandre Meliava :