Miller

Variations – Mills, Milnes, Milner, Milman, Milward Mueller, Muller.
Racial Origin – English and German
Source – An occupation.

While the connection between the word mill and the family names of Miller and Milla is quite obvious, the connection between Milnes and Milner is more obscured.

The latter two forms of the name are the only modern survivals of the original form of the word mill, which was “milne” or “meine.”

There is another connection here too, which does not strike most people.  It becomes more obvious as we trace the spelling of the word mill back to “meine,” and the word meal back to its older from of “mele.” The name of the article and that of the place in which it is made come from the same word root.

The family name of Miller is almost always found with the spelling “Mellere” in the medieval records, and Milner is found as “Melnes.” In the beginning these words were used in the purely descriptive sense, denoting the occupation of the bearer, as “Adam le Mellere” or “Edgar le Meiner.”

The more ancient forms of Mills and Milne are preceded by the words “ate” or “de le,” meaning “at the,” and “of the,” denoting that the bearers of these names lived near a mill, or were actually millers.

The name Milward signifies that the original bearer of it was the warden or Custodian of a mill,  in such cases the owner being a member of the nobility or perchance a religious institution.

Muller and Mueller are German forms.