Occupation
Mills surname meaning
An occupational or locational surname for a mill worker, miller’s household, or someone living beside a mill.
The short story
Mills belongs to the busy medieval world of watermills and windmills. It could identify a mill worker or miller’s family, and in some records a person who lived beside a mill rather than operated it. The plural ending is part of the inherited surname and does not require several mills owned by one ancestor. Mill, Milles, and northern Milnes show related forms. Because the mill was both a workplace and a landmark, occupation and place readings naturally overlap. This catalog chooses occupation for the leading social meaning: a person connected with mill work.
Also seen as: Mill, Milles, Milnes
Sources used
- Geneanet/DAFN 2022: Mills occupational and topographic routes
- Etymonline: mill and English surname formation
- Names2020_LastNames_RaceHispanic_Top1000.xlsx (2020 Census)