The Meiss Family

One claim is that the surname Meiss comes from a German word meaing 'felling area', 'felled timber', another is that the name is related to Maus, indicating a mouse catcher or perhaps someone resembling a mouse.

The name Meiß (note: the German letter ß is pronounced as a combination of the letters s and z) is the diminutive form of the old germanic name Mago which in turn is from the gothic "magan", meaning to like. According to Paul Gründel, a heraldist in Dresden in the 1920s, the oldest historic papers show the first appearance of the name Meis in 1170/96 by a Jacob Meis who was at that time in St. Gallen and Zurich in Switzerland.

In 1216, landowner Heinrich Meys was in the council in Zurich. Another landowner, Walter Meys, was in war with the convent in Oettenbach in 1294. By 1571, a Meyssen owned a mill. As a captain of a company footsoldiers in Zurich, landowner Heinrich Meyss went in 1685 to Strasbourg, France.

My branch of the family pronounces the name with a long 'e' sound, in the French manner. My grandfather always said that our ancestors came from Alsace-Lorraine when it was under French rule.

• Angelika Meiss in Hamburg is the editor of COSSMA a journal of Cosmetics Trends.
• Alan Meiss is well known on the net for his humor, for example 50 Fun Things for Professors to do on the First Day of Class, and 50 Fun Things to do in an Elevator.
• Alberto Meiss is a professor of Achitecture at Universidad de Valladolid, Castilla y Leon He has worked on methods for determining the airflow through builings
• Andrew & Elizabeth Meiss lived in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania in the 1860's.
• Bernd-Christian Meiß is finananical consultant in Oldenberg. He sent the family crest below.
• Bob and Jean Meiss (Aunt and Uncle of James) lived on Bonaire. Their son, Robert Jr died in Vietnam and the Corporal Meiss dive site is named after him
• Carl H. Meiss was president of the Pennsylvania State Grange 2010-14. He retired from Messih College in 2019.
• Chelsy Meiss, born in Melbourne AU, is with the National Ballet of Canada
• Chirstian Meiss was born in 1721 in Odental Germany.
• Dave von Meiss is an economics consulant in Mels, Switzerland.
• Donna Meiss (cousin to James) is a translator in Rome, Italy.
• Florian H. von Meiss, L.L.M. is a partner in the law firm of Blum & Grob in Zurich.
• Frank Meiss works at the Department of Dermatology and Venereology, University of Freiburg, in Germany
• Gregor Meiss was a Biochemist at the Institut fuer Biochemie of the Universitaet Giessen.
• Gregory Meiss runs Meiss Feed and Supply in Sibley Illinois. Get your goat food here!
• Floyd Meiss, a vetern of the Korean war, lived in Gridley Illinois and married Marjorie Meiss He may be Peter's son.
• Guy T. Meiss was a professor of Journalism at Central Michigan University. He has written a number of books, in including Ethnic Media in America
• Heinrich Meiss Lived in Zurich, and died in 1373.
• James D. Meiss is a Professor of Applied Mathematics in Boulder.
• Jeremy Meiss is a Software Enginner in Kansas City, KS.
• Johann George Meiss was born in West Phalia in 1704, and emigrated to Lebanon County PA.
• Jordan M. Meiss is an orphopedic surgeon in Peoria Il.
• Karl-Michael Meiss is at Steinbeis-Transferzentrum and the Athur-Sommerfeld-Society in Leipzig.
• Katherine Meiss is an attorney specializing in welfare law in Los Angeles.
• Katrin Meiss is apparently a tennis player from Leipzig.
• Kaitlyn Meiss has a youtube channel.
• Kenneth D. Meiss is a dentist in Peoria IL.
• Lauren N. Meiss, MD is a Resident at Yale University School of Medicine. She was Biochemistry Student at Gothenburg University in Sweden working on Mucosal Glands.
• Lou Meiss maintains Telecommunications Equipment for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. He is a Desert Wrangler
• Mark Meiss is a Google Software Engineer. He has a blog Fomenting Entropy and is Alan's brother.
• Millard Meiss was an Art Historian from Princeton and Institute for Advanced Study. You can get some of his books from Princeton University Press. A Biography by J. Cooke should be released soon.
• Nathalie Meiss was a professional boxer from Germany till 2002. Here is one of her fights.
• Paul Meiss is in real estate in Pittsburg.
• Phil Meiss was most valuable football player for Rose-Hulman Inst. of Tech in Indiana in 1985.He works at Victory Sales.
• Peter Meiss was born in Germany in 1881 and lived in Gridely Illinois until 1957.
• Pierre von Meiss is an emeritus Professor of Architecture in Lausanne, and has written several Architecture books. See also Abe Books
• Rich Meiss is president of the Meiss Education Institute in Excelsior, MN.
• Richelle Meiss is an actress in Los Angeles. She has appeared in ABC's Single Parents and is appearing on the web series Issues
• Richard A. Meiss is a professor of physiology at Indiana University School of Medicine. Here is the abstract of one of his papers.
• Richard A. Meiss is a ham radio enthusiast, and has a YouTube Channel
• Robert Warren Meiss Jr, son of Bob, was a corporal in the army. He died in died in Vietnam in 1967.
• Roberto Pablo Meiss is at the National Academy of Medicine in Buenos Aires. He works on Cancer and has worked on Chagas Disease
• Sarah Meiss teaches microbiology at Cal U.
• Susanne von Meiss is a phtographer focussing on style.
• Thomas Michael Meiss has a number of patents including one for a Promotion operable recognition system.
• Troy Meiss played bass for Wake Ooloo, and for the Meat Puppets in 1994.
• Willis Edward Meiss lived in SouthBend Indiana until November 2017.

• Joseph Christian Mease (1799-1853) was the son of Berhard Meiss (or Miess). Frances Mease Schrock told me her branch of Mease family comes from Colorado (Baca County).
• Ernest Meissonier classical painter in the Napoleaonic era. Some of his paintings are in the Lourve.
• Walter Meissner a 20th century physicist in Berlin most famous for the Meissner effect in superconductivity.
• Meissen is a town near Dresden Germany most famous for Meissen porcelain

• Meiss Road is in Sloughhouse California.
• Meiss Lake is south of Lake Tahoe. The area is called Meiss Country; it was named for Benjamin Meiss who was in the cattle business. You can also hike to Meiss Ridge and Lake!
• Meiss lake is also in Butte valley in Northern California, near the Oregon Border.
• Meiss Pass, is nearby in the Sierra Nevada.
• Meiss Meadow Ski hut is just north of Carson Pass on Hwy 88, 25 miles south of Lake Tahoe in the Sierra Nevada.
• Corporal Meiss is a Dive site on the island of Bonaire in the Dutch Antilles. It is named in honor of Robert W. Meiss Jr.
• Meiss al Jabal is a town in Lebanon.
• Meissa is a group of stars in the Orion constellation, also called Lambda Orionis.

I got this from Bernd-Christian Meiss in Rastede, Germany, who tells me that there are many Meisses there. I have no idea of the meaning or significance of the symbols here. Anyone who does know, do let me know: