[Surname] Molyneux/Molyneaux?
Can anyone tell me where this surname originated? I'm assuming it's French but I'm obviously not positive. Thanks in advance :)
Replies
MOLYNEUX:
1. English and Irish (of Norman origin): habitational name from Moulineaux in Seine-Maritime, so named from the plural of Old French moulineau, a diminutive of moulin ‘mill’. In some cases this may have been an occupational name as in 2.
2. French: occupational name for a miller, from molineux, a variant of Old French molineur ‘miller’.
3. Irish: Anglicized form of Mulligan.
4. Irish (Co. Kerry): Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Maol an Mhuaidh ‘descendant of Maol an Mhuaidh (follower of the noble)’.
MOLYNEAUX:
English and Irish: variant spelling of Molyneux
Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press
(www.ancestry.com)
1. English and Irish (of Norman origin): habitational name from Moulineaux in Seine-Maritime, so named from the plural of Old French moulineau, a diminutive of moulin ‘mill’. In some cases this may have been an occupational name as in 2.
2. French: occupational name for a miller, from molineux, a variant of Old French molineur ‘miller’.
3. Irish: Anglicized form of Mulligan.
4. Irish (Co. Kerry): Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Maol an Mhuaidh ‘descendant of Maol an Mhuaidh (follower of the noble)’.
MOLYNEAUX:
English and Irish: variant spelling of Molyneux
Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press
(www.ancestry.com)
Thank you