Molla Family History

Muslim (Indian subcontinent and Iran): status name from the title molla ‘mullah’ denoting someone with a qualification in Islamic religious learning (ultimately) from Persian mulla a derivative of Arabic maulā ‘scholar’. See also Mulla.

Turkish: ornamental name or status name from the title molla ‘mullah’ (see 1 above).

Albanian (northern): status name from molla ‘mullah’ a loanword from Turkish (see 1 and 2 above compare Mulla).

Catalan: from the feminine form of Moll. Catalan (Mollà): variant of Mollar a habitational name from any of several places called Mollar in Catalonia and Valencia.

Ethiopian: from the personal name Molla which is interpreted as e.g. ‘he is complete’ in the Amharic language. — Note: Since Ethiopians do not have hereditary surnames this name was registered as such only after immigration of its bearers to the US.