Mull
A surname with several possible roots: a Scottish place-word for a headland, a Lancashire form of Molineux, or a pet form of Moll/Mary.
The #3,774 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 32,926 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname has more than one proposed source. In Scotland, Mull can be linked to the Gaelic word maol, meaning a bare hill, promontory, or headland, which also underlies the name of the island of Mull. In Lancashire, older writers treated it as a shortened form of Molineux or Molyneux; another line of explanation connects it with Moll, a nickname for Mary. The evidence is mixed, so the surname may have arisen independently in different places.
History
19th-century surname writers already noted that Mull could mean different things in different regions. In Scottish contexts it was often explained as a topographical name, while in Lancashire it was read as a reduced form of Molineux. Because these explanations point to separate local origins, modern bearers of the surname may not share a single family line.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Early surname books even preserved a joking anecdote about a clergyman who prayed for "Mary Mull" before realizing she was really a Molineux.
From the historical record
“B.L.G. MULL. A topographical expression, as the midl of Cantire. In other cases it may mean mulne, 0. E. for mill. In Lancashire it is an abbreviated form of Molineux. " Our clergyman prayed at churcli for JIary Mull some time ere he found out that she Avas a ]\Iolineux. He may well be said to have " made a mvll of…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom