Moline
A surname linked to mills or, in some cases, to a heraldic cross shaped like a mill-iron.
The #9,821 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 93,673 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is usually explained from Old French words for a mill, especially forms like the place-name and byname elements found in Normandy and southern France. In many cases it likely meant someone who lived by, worked at, or came from a mill, with related forms also reflecting placenames such as Moulins. A second, closely related line of explanation connects the name with the heraldic term cross moline, a cross whose ends look like mill-irons or millrinds.
History
The excerpts point to Norman families using the name in medieval England, especially in baronial and heraldic contexts. Later writers also associated Moline, Molineux, and related forms with Norman place-names and with the cross moline in their arms. In some cases the surname may have been reinforced or reinterpreted through heraldic usage rather than simple occupational naming.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
A cross moline is a heraldic cross whose tips split and curve outward, resembling the ends of a mill-iron.
From the historical record
“j'.ud Jlni'orets Molesworth. Moline, froiu the Castle of Mo- lines, rsormaudy. AVilliaui do Mo- Ihies 11 OS (TMlYS). The baronial fp.mily of Molines in Kiigland v,-;is of this lioiise.”
— The Norman People and their existing descendants in the British dominions and the United States