NameCensus.

UK surname

Muller

An occupational surname referring to a miller or grain grinder.

In the 1881 census there were 1,112 people recorded with the Muller surname, ranking it #3,583 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 2,071, ranked #3,124, up from #3,583 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to St George in the East, London parishes and St Pancras. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Oxford, East Cambridgeshire and Rutland.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Muller is 2,106 in 2014. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 86.2%.

1881 census count

1,112

Ranked #3,583

Modern count

2,071

2016, ranked #3,124

Peak year

2014

2,106 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Muller had 1,112 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #3,583 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 2,071 in 2016, ranked #3,124.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 1,722 in 1901.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Diverse Educated Urban Singles.

Muller surname distribution map

The map shows where the Muller surname is concentrated in each census or modern distribution year. Darker areas mean a stronger local concentration.

Distribution map

Muller surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Muller over time

The table below tracks recorded surname counts and rank from the 19th-century census years through the modern adult-register period.

Year Period Count Rank
1851 historical 394 #6,105
1861 historical 720 #3,780
1881 historical 1,112 #3,583
1891 historical 1,284 #3,369
1901 historical 1,722 #3,004
1911 historical 1,483 #3,247
1997 modern 1,650 #3,597
1998 modern 1,766 #3,510
1999 modern 1,810 #3,458
2000 modern 1,817 #3,433
2001 modern 1,736 #3,502
2002 modern 1,778 #3,506
2003 modern 1,746 #3,492
2004 modern 1,802 #3,389
2005 modern 1,781 #3,399
2006 modern 1,808 #3,360
2007 modern 1,865 #3,306
2008 modern 1,912 #3,258
2009 modern 1,951 #3,281
2010 modern 2,040 #3,223
2011 modern 2,017 #3,215
2012 modern 2,024 #3,162
2013 modern 2,095 #3,117
2014 modern 2,106 #3,123
2015 modern 2,084 #3,119
2016 modern 2,071 #3,124

Geography

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Where Mullers are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around St George in the East, London parishes, St Pancras and St Dunstan Stepney. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Oxford, East Cambridgeshire, Rutland, Camden and Pembrokeshire. Treat these as concentration signals, not proof that every family line began there.

Some modern areas include a three-digit suffix, such as Leeds 110. The suffix is a small-area code, so it stays in the table while the prose uses the plain place name.

Top historical parishes

Rank Parish Area
1 St George in the East London (East Districts)
2 London parishes London 1
3 London parishes London 3
4 St Pancras London (North Districts)
5 St Dunstan Stepney London (East Districts)

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Oxford 008 Oxford
2 East Cambridgeshire 008 East Cambridgeshire
3 Rutland 005 Rutland
4 Camden 002 Camden
5 Pembrokeshire 015 Pembrokeshire

Forenames

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First names often paired with Muller

These lists show first names that appear often with the Muller surname in historical and recent records.

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Muller

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Muller, this points to the kinds of places where the surname is most concentrated today.

These neighbourhood labels describe areas, not individual people. They are useful because surnames often cluster through family history, migration, housing patterns and local work. A surname can be strongest in one type of neighbourhood even when people with that name live across the country.

The UK classification gives the national picture. The London classification is more specific to the capital, where housing, age profile, tenure and population mix can look quite different from the rest of the UK.

UK neighbourhood type

UK Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Multicultural and Educated Urbanites

Group

Diverse Educated Urban Singles

Nationally, the Muller surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Diverse Educated Urban Singles, within Multicultural and Educated Urbanites. This does not mean every Muller household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

This Group includes many never-married individuals not living with dependent children. Many were born in EU countries and are now aged between 25-44. This Group is characterised by its ethnic group diversity, although those identifying as Asian are not well represented. Affiliation with the Christian religion amongst residents is low. Reported disability rates are low. Neighbourhoods include some central locations in London and other major cities. Private renting is the norm, and there is some overcrowding. Many individuals are educated to degree level, and full-time employment is common, particularly in managerial and professional occupations.

Wider pattern

Established populations comprising ethnic minorities together with persons born outside the UK predominate in this Supergroup. Residents present diverse personal characteristics and circumstances: while generally well-educated and practising skilled occupations, some residents live in overcrowded rental sector housing. English may not be the main language used by people in this Group. Although the typical adult resident is middle aged, single person households are common and marriage rates are low by national standards. This Supergroup predominates in Inner London, with smaller enclaves in many other densely populated metropolitan areas.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

The Greater London Mix

Group

Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers

Within London, Muller is most associated with areas classed as Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers, part of The Greater London Mix. This gives the surname a London-specific profile rather than forcing the capital into the same pattern as the rest of the country.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Mainly located in Inner London, these neighbourhoods retain a diverse employment structure, with some concentration in associated professional and technical occupations rather than skilled trades or construction. Social renting is more common and levels of homeownership are low. Many residents identify as Black. There is a lower than average rate of marriage or civil partnership, few that are very old (85 or over) and higher than average incidence of disability.

Wider London pattern

A Supergroup embodying London's diversity in many respects, apart from low numbers of residents identifying as of Bangladeshi, Indian, Pakistani or Other (non-Chinese) Asian ethnicity. There is lower than average prevalence of families with dependent children, while there are above average occurrences of never-married individuals and single-person households. The age distribution is skewed towards younger, single residents and couples without children, with many individuals identifying as of mixed or multiple ethnicity. Social rented or private rented housing is slightly more prevalent than average, and many residents live in flats. Individuals typically work in professional and associated roles in public administration, education or health rather than in elementary occupations in agriculture, energy, water, construction or manufacturing. Incidence of students is slightly below average. Individuals declaring no religion are more prevalent than average and non-use of English at home is below average.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Muller is most concentrated in decile 10 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname towards the healthier end of the index.

Lower deciles point towards weaker access to healthy assets or stronger exposure to local hazards. Higher deciles point towards stronger access and fewer hazards.

10
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Muller falls in decile 8 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname towards the less deprived end of the index.

Decile 1 represents the more deprived end of the scale. Decile 10 represents the less deprived end.

8
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Muller is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 30-40 mbit/s.

The scale below places that band in context, from slower local download bands through to faster ones.

6
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - Other

This describes the area pattern most associated with Muller, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Muller

The surname "Muller" is of German origin and dates back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the German word "Müller," which means "miller" in English, referring to a person who operated a mill for grinding grain into flour.

The name first appeared in various regions of Germany, including Bavaria, Saxony, and the Rhineland, where the milling profession was prevalent. It is believed that the name originated during the 12th or 13th century, when surnames began to be adopted across Europe.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name "Muller" can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae, a collection of historical documents from the German state of Saxony, dated around 1250. The name is also mentioned in several other medieval records, such as the Biberacher Jahrbüchern, a chronicle from the city of Biberach in southern Germany, dating back to the 14th century.

Notable individuals bearing the surname "Muller" throughout history include Johannes Muller (1436-1476), a German astronomer and mathematician known as Regiomontanus; Johann Muller (1644-1732), a German cartographer and engraver who produced the first map of Russia; and Friedrich Muller (1834-1898), a German linguist and ethnographer who studied the languages and cultures of the Pacific Northwest.

Another famous bearer of the name was Paul Hermann Muller (1899-1965), a Swiss chemist who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1948 for his discovery of the insecticidal properties of DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane).

In the Netherlands, the name "Muller" is often associated with the city of Leiden, where many millers were active in the 16th and 17th centuries. One notable example is Gerrit Muller (1628-1718), a Dutch Golden Age painter known for his genre scenes and portraits.

The name "Muller" has also been found in various place names throughout Germany, such as Mullersgrund, a village in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and Mullerthal, a region in Luxembourg known for its natural rock formations and hiking trails.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Muller families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Muller surname. Use the location tables for concentration, then the name and occupation tables for the people behind the surname.

Top counties

Total is the county count. Frequency and index adjust for local population size, so they are better concentration signals. Middlesex leads with 450 Mullers recorded in 1881 and an index of 4.14x.

County Total Index
Middlesex 450 4.14x
Surrey 107 2.02x
Lancashire 74 0.57x
Yorkshire 55 0.51x
Durham 33 1.02x
Sussex 30 1.64x
Essex 27 1.26x
Kent 22 0.59x
Lanarkshire 22 0.63x
Staffordshire 21 0.57x
Gloucestershire 19 0.89x
Midlothian 19 1.31x
Warwickshire 19 0.69x
Devon 17 0.75x
Glamorgan 17 0.90x
Somerset 16 0.91x
Angus 15 1.49x
Cornwall 13 1.06x
Cheshire 11 0.46x
Northumberland 11 0.68x
Hampshire 10 0.45x
Derbyshire 9 0.53x
Nottinghamshire 9 0.61x
Oxfordshire 9 1.34x
Channel Islands 8 2.48x
Hertfordshire 7 0.93x
Wiltshire 7 0.73x
Cumberland 5 0.53x
Monmouthshire 5 0.64x
Caernarfonshire 4 0.91x
Fife 4 0.62x
Lincolnshire 4 0.23x
Shropshire 4 0.43x
Bedfordshire 3 0.53x
Berkshire 3 0.37x
Suffolk 3 0.23x
Worcestershire 3 0.21x
Buckinghamshire 2 0.30x
Herefordshire 2 0.45x
Leicestershire 2 0.17x
Norfolk 2 0.12x
Renfrewshire 2 0.24x
Royal Navy 2 1.54x
Argyllshire 1 0.33x
Cambridgeshire 1 0.15x
Denbighshire 1 0.24x
Dorset 1 0.14x
Huntingdonshire 1 0.46x
Merionethshire 1 0.50x
Northamptonshire 1 0.10x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. St Pancras London in Middlesex leads with 40 Mullers recorded in 1881 and an index of 4.57x.

Place Total Index
St Pancras London 40 4.57x
Islington London 35 3.32x
St George In East 35 47.35x
St Marylebone London 34 5.86x
Kensington London 30 4.97x
Mile End Old Town 30 17.49x
Hackney London 25 4.10x
Camberwell 23 3.31x
West Ham 21 4.43x
Liverpool 19 2.43x
Bethnal Green London 18 3.81x
Lambeth 17 1.79x
Paddington London 17 4.25x
Shoreditch London 17 3.61x
St Anne Soho London 17 27.39x
St Giles In Fields 15 40.02x
Aston 13 1.72x
Battersea 12 3.00x
Brighton 11 2.98x
Broughton In Salford 11 9.33x
Clerkenwell London 11 4.29x
Govan 11 1.27x
Hammersmith London 11 4.11x
Manchester 11 1.90x
St Luke London 11 6.31x
Bow London 10 7.23x
Bradford 10 3.84x
Liff Benvie 10 6.54x
St George Hanover 9 6.35x
Croydon 8 2.72x
Fulham London 8 5.08x
Glasgow 8 1.28x
Handsworth 8 8.85x
Newington 8 1.99x
Swansea Town 8 5.16x
Culmstock 7 218.07x
Leith South 7 351.76x
Manningham 7 5.28x
Putney 7 14.13x
Reigate Foreign 7 12.21x
St Columb Minor 7 67.76x
Stoke Newington London 7 8.27x
Cheltenham 6 3.65x
Edmonton 6 6.85x
Elswick 6 4.65x
Huntington 6 909.09x
Monkwearmouth Shore 6 9.51x
Nottingham St Nicholas 6 30.08x
Oxford St Giles 6 18.74x
Penge 6 8.64x
Rusholme 6 17.45x
St Peter Port 6 10.07x
Swindon 6 8.05x
Westminster St James 6 5.37x
Westminster St John 6 4.53x
Woolwich 6 4.38x
York St Mary 6 13.45x
Broadwater 5 11.90x
Gateshead 5 2.07x
Hastings St Mary 5 10.96x
Levenshulme 5 37.68x
Limehouse London 5 4.19x
Middleton St George 5 123.46x
Stoke Upon Trent 5 1.29x
Stranton 5 4.59x
Twickenham 5 10.73x
Wandsworth 5 4.78x
Westbury On Trym 5 6.92x
Bedminster 4 2.43x
Edgbaston 4 4.71x
Hampstead London 4 2.36x
Holy Trinity 4 1.54x
Montrose 4 6.56x
Ockbrook 4 55.40x
Seaton 4 45.87x
St George Bloomsbury 4 6.42x
St Martin In Fields 4 6.15x
St Mary Within 4 34.22x
St Thomas Apostle 4 105.54x
Whitechapel London 4 3.73x

Top female names

These are the female first names most often recorded with the Muller surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Top male names

These are the male first names most often recorded with the Muller surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
John 38
Henry 30
Charles 29
William 29
George 25
Alfred 16
Frederick 16
Albert 11
James 11
Joseph 10
Thomas 9
Paul 8
Arthur 7
Harry 7
Carl 6
Christian 6
Frank 6
Fred 6
Gustav 6
Herman 6
Wilhelm 6
Adam 5
Edward 5
Hermann 5
Jacob 5
Louis 5
Robert 5
E. 4
Herbert 4
Karl 4
Richard 4
Anton 3
Augustus 3
Berthold 3
Conrad 3
Cornelius 3
Ernest 3
Heinrich 3
Max 3
Oscar 3
Otto 3
Abraham 2
Adolph 2
Andrew 2
Anthony 2
David 2
Hinrich 2
Jas 2
Johann 2
Julius 2

FAQ

Muller surname: questions and answers

How common was the Muller surname in 1881?

In 1881, 1,112 people were recorded with the Muller surname. That placed it at #3,583 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Muller surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 2,071 in 2016. That gives Muller a modern rank of #3,124.

What does the Muller surname mean?

An occupational surname referring to a miller or grain grinder.

What does the Muller map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Muller bearers relative to the surrounding population.

What records is this surname page based on?

The historical counts come from census surname records. The modern counts and neighbourhood summaries come from later surname distribution records. Counts are recorded bearers in those records, not a live estimate of everyone with the name today.