Mills
A common English surname that usually means someone who lived by a mill, though some early writers also linked it to a shortened form of Michael.
The #182 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 2,032 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Mills is most often explained as a topographic surname for someone who lived near corn mills or at the mill. In this reading, it comes from Middle English mill, ultimately from Old English mylen or myl(l), plus the plural or possessive -s. A minority of 19th-century writers suggested that some examples may instead be a genitive form of an abbreviated Michael, but the place-by-the-mill explanation is the standard one.
History
The surname is well established in England and later spread widely in the English-speaking world, especially through migration to North America, Australia, and elsewhere. Historical surname writers often grouped it with other local surnames formed from places of residence, and records show it appearing in London and provincial English registers by the 18th and earlier centuries. It remains common today, ranking high in the United States.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Because mills were such prominent landmarks in older villages, surnames like Mills could arise independently in many different places.
From the historical record
“MILLROY, V. Milroy, MILLS (Eng.) i One living at or by Corn- Mills. 2 Mill's (Son) : v. Mill. MILLSON, Mill's SoN : v. Mill. MILLWARD, V. Mllward. MILMAN (Eng.) the Mill-Man; Miller [O.E. myl(e)n + man{n'\”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)