Enlightening thread; thanks to the participants. It’s interesting that this name appears to be quite popular in France, especially in the Southwest, and has been for some time, but I’ve never met anyone called that. And I’ve seen some unusual names. There really are differences in naming conventions between French-speaking countries.
Thank you—I do read French, and that backs you up nicely. The name Breton name Maëlis is evidently not the same.
In other words, in two corners of France with distinct and separate traditions, two names appeared in the form in Ma+(ë/ï/ÿ)+l+(e/i/y)+s. I can see where people (including me!) might get confused, especially given the fact that a lot of name-origin sites are full of misinformation.
I tried to look into the origin of the place-name, and it seems that it’s not really known. French wikipedia suggests an Occitan may meaning “mother”, i.e. the Virgin Mary, plus lis “lily.” Huh.