Miller
An occupational surname for a person who worked in or owned a mill, especially a grain mill.
The #7 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 266 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Miller comes from the occupation of grinding grain at a mill. It goes back to Middle English millere, mellere, from an earlier milner(e), and ultimately to Old English mylen, meaning "mill." The same occupation was also rendered in learned Latin records as molendinarius or molendinator. Related forms include Milner, Milne, Mills, Milward, and similar occupational surnames.
History
Miller became one of the most common surnames in England and later in other English-speaking countries because the milling trade was widespread and essential. The name also appears early in parish and civic records, and by the 19th and 20th centuries it was especially frequent in Scotland and urban English populations. Variants and related surnames sometimes reflect regional spellings or slightly different occupational distinctions.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
In older records, scribes sometimes translated the surname into Latin as Molendinarius or Molendinator, both meaning "miller."
From the historical record
“Miihlen (Mills) MILLER (Eng.) Corn-Grinder [M.E. millere, mellere, for earlier milner(e, mylner(e; f. O.E. myl{e)n, a mill] See Milner. MILLERSON, (the) Miller's Son. JJj!-!-^!]^ Vthe French Mille (v. Mill (Fr.) f M I LLOT J '"'^ ^''"- ^^^- '^'' ■"'■ Roger MiWot—Hund. Rolls.”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)