Miller (surname)
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| Origin | |
|---|---|
| Meaning | derived from the occupation of a miller |
| Region of origin | Scotland, England, Ireland, Germany |
| [1] | |
Miller (Mouller or Millar) is a surname of English and Scottish origin, principally derived from the occupational name for a miller. The standard modern vocabulary word represents the northern Middle English term, an agent derivative of mille ‘mill’, reinforced by Old Norse mylnari (see Milner). In southern, western, and central England, Millward (literally, ‘mill keeper’) was the usual term. Amongst the earliest recordings of the surname is Reginald Miller in the Subsidy Tax Rolls of Sussex, South East England in 1327.[2] Miller is the 54th most common surname in the UK.[3] The American surname has absorbed many cognate surnames from other European languages, for example French Meunier, Dumoulin, Demoulins, and Moulin; German Mueller; Dutch Molenaar; Danish Møller; Italian Molinaro; Spanish Molinero; Hungarian Molnár; Slavic Mlinar, etc.[4]
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Another theories of the origins of the Scottish Miller name is that the surname Miller or Millar is primarily of German origin, from Burlin, Caithness, Perth and Kinross, Stirling, North Lanarkshire and South Lanarkshire.[citation needed] The origin of the Scottish name comes from a burn (rivulet) in Glasgow namely the molindinar Mo-lynn-dine-are and the name has evolved over the years to molindar Mo-lynn-dar and to molinar mo-lynn-ar and to Millar and finally to Miller.[citation needed] The name Miller also has a long history in Northern Ireland, notably County Antrim where many migrants from Northern England and Scotland settled in the 16th and 17th Centuries.[citation needed] Irish immigrants coming to America changed it from Muilleoir to Miller. The reason for the changes are due to the people who recorded births and deaths and is linked because of the popular way of phonetic spelling writing as it is sounded. It derives from the occupation of miller. The name Miller also originates from some places in England, notably Dorset and western Lancashire.
The name has been carried throughout the world with Scottish, Irish, and English emigrants.
In the English-speaking world, the surname "Miller" is also the result of anglicizing last names of Germanic descent. "Mahler," "Mueller," "Muller" and "Moeller" have all been rendered variously as "Miller." It is also the south German and Swiss form of Müller.
The American surname has absorbed many cognate surnames from other European languages, for example French Meunier, Dumoulin, Demoulins, and Moulin; German Müller; Dutch Molenaar; Danish Møller; Italian Molinaro; Spanish Molinero; Hungarian Molnár; Slavic Mlinar, Russian Mielnik; Portuguese Muella etc.
Because of this cognate absorption, the surname "Millar" can denote ancestry from many European nations, mainly England, Scotland, Italy, Spain and Germany.[citation needed]
According to the 1990 US Census, Miller was the 7th most common surname in the United States by 1990, accounting for 0.424% of the population.[5]
See also
References
- ^ British surnames - origin
- ^ Surname Database: Miller last name origin
- ^ British surnames
- ^ Miller Name Meaning and Origin
- ^ United States Census Bureau (9 May 1995). s:1990 Census Name Files dist.all.last (1-100). Retrieved on 2008-07-04.