English
The name 'Mullins' originates from England. It is derived from the topograpgic name for someone who lived by a Mill, or occupational name for a Miller, frm the Anglo Norman French word 'mi(u)lin, and 'mulin' meaning mill. In Ireland it was an Anglicized form of Gaelic as 'O Maolain' a 'descendant of 'Maolan', a byname meaning 'Tonsured One', 'Devotee' (from the word 'maol' meaning bald). Compiled information from Historical and Private archive's has confirmed that the surname 'Mullins' and or it's variant's, dates as far back as the 13th century were a 'William de Molyns', from Gloucestershire, England, is recorded on the Hundred Rolls in 1273. Historical archive's have been unable to definitely determine the exact period of settlement in North America but It is believed that the forefather's of this surname were part of the exodus of migrants that followed the Treaty of Peace signed in Paris in 1763, when great Britain obtained ownership of the whole of North America east of the Missisipi River excepting New Orleans. The chief reasons causing working class people to emigrate were, poor crop yields, high unemployment, and the misconception that America was a land of golden opportunity. It is has been estimated that after 1769 some 20,000 persons a year migrated to the Americas from the British Isles. Today 'Mullins' is the '454th' most common surname in North America.