Mullins
A surname with both Irish patronymic roots and a Norman-French place-name source, most likely meaning “descendant of Mullin” or “one from Moulins.”
The #463 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 4,309 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Mullins has two main explanations in the historical surname literature. One links it to the Irish name Mullin, making Mullins a patronymic meaning “son or descendant of Mullin.” Another traces it to Moulins/Molines in France, a place-name derived from Latin molina, meaning “mills,” so the surname could also mean someone from a place called “the mills.”
History
English and Irish surname dictionaries often treat Mullins as a name with overlapping Celtic and Norman-French histories. In some cases it may have developed as an anglicized Irish surname; in others it appears to be locational, from French place-names such as Moulins. The surname is well established in Britain, Ireland, and especially the United States.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Some 19th-century writers treated Mullins and Mullen as related forms, while others preferred a French locational explanation from Moulins.
From the historical record
“MULLINEUX for Molineaux, q.v. MULLINS (A.-Celt.) Mullin's (Son): v. Mullin. (A.-Fr.-Lat.) Bel. to Moulines or Moulins (France) = the Mills [v. Miullin^] MULLOCHI (Celt.) Dweller at a Summit, mullock; Height, Hill-Top [Gael, (and Ir.) mullacK\ (Eng.) the A.-Sax. name-stem Mul- [Lat. mul-us (whence als6 O.H.Ger. mut),”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)