Dictionary of Family Names

MALLET or MALET.   This name has been ascribed by some to a place so termed in Normandy, and by others to the courageous blows of the family in battle.  Malleus, Maule, Mall, and Mallet was one of the offensive weapons of a well-armed warrior, being generally made of iron, and used to destroy by pounding or bruising the enemy through or under the armor, that could not be penetrated by edged or pointed weapons.  Edward I was called Malleus Scotorum.  All the families of this name in England trace their descent from the renowned William Lord Mallet de Graville, one of the great barons who accompanied William the Conqueror.