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Mills Family History

Mills Name Meaning

English: variant of Mill 1 with excrescent -s added in post-medieval times. Compare Mullins from a French equivalent of this name and see also Milnes . English: either a variant of Miles a variant of Mill 2 with genitival or post-medieval excrescent -s or Myhill with post-medieval excrescent -s. Irish: this is usually the English name especially in Ulster but elsewhere in Ireland it was also adopted for the Gaelic topographic byname an Mhuilinn ‘of the mill’. In some cases also an Americanized form of Serbian or Croatian Milić (see Milic ) or of some other surname beginning with Mil-.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022


Similar surnames: Miles, Mill, Mille, Milks, Mells, Gills, Milne, Millis, Milla, Dills

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Hint: Try searching for a relative alive in 1940.

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Where is the Mills family from?

You can see how Mills families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Mills family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Mills families were found in United Kingdom in 1891. In 1891 there were 6,265 Mills families living in Lancashire. This was about 17% of all the recorded Mills's in United Kingdom. Lancashire had the highest population of Mills families in 1891.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Mills surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.

What did your Mills ancestors do for a living?

In 1939, General Labourer and Unpaid Domestic Duties were the top reported jobs for men and women in the United Kingdom named Mills. 7% of Mills men worked as a General Labourer and 64% of Mills women worked as an Unpaid Domestic Duties. Some less common occupations for Americans named Mills were Incapacitated and Incapacitated. .

View Census Data for Mills | Data not to scale

*We display top occupations by gender to maintain their historical accuracy during times when men and women often performed different jobs.

Top Male Occupations In 1939

  • General Labourer
    7%
  • Builders Labourer
    3%
  • Bricklayer
    2%
  • Incapacitated
    2%

Top Female Occupations In 1939

  • Unpaid Domestic Duties
    64%
  • Unpaid Domestic
    3%
  • Housewife
    2%
  • Incapacitated
    2%
Black & white image of two construction labourers

What Mills family records will you find?

Census Records

There are 1 million census records available for the last name Mills. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Mills census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search UK census records for Mills

Passenger Lists

There are 218,000 immigration records available for the last name Mills. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in the UK, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

View all Mills immigration records

Draft Cards

There are 228,000 military records available for the last name Mills. For the veterans among your Mills ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

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What is the average Mills lifespan?

Between 1940 and 2004, in the United States, Mills life expectancy was at its lowest point in 1944, and highest in 2004. The average life expectancy for Mills in 1940 was 38, and 74 in 2004.

View Social Security Death Index (SSDI) for Mills

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