2000
#141,788
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Mollineaux
A French surname denoting someone who lived near a windmill.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 118 Americans carry the last name Mollineaux. That puts it at #154,182 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,904,698 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mollineaux surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
118
1 in 2,904,698
Census rank
#154,182
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
103
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 103 bearers of the surname Mollineaux in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 154182nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mollineaux, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.3%. The next largest groups are Black (9.7%) and Two or More Races (1.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Mollineaux
The surname Mollineaux is of Anglo-Norman origin, deriving from the Old French words "moulin" meaning "mill" and "eaux" meaning "waters". It likely emerged in England following the Norman Conquest of 1066, referring to someone who lived near a mill or watermill.
The name has its roots in the areas of Lancashire and Greater Manchester in northwest England, where it was first recorded in the 13th century. Early spellings included Molineux, Molyneux, Mullineux, and Mollineaux.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is found in the Assize Rolls of Lancashire from 1246, which mention a Richard de Molineus. The Molyneux family were prominent landowners in Lancashire, holding the estate of Sefton near Liverpool from the 13th century onwards.
In the 14th century, the Molyneux name appears in various historical records, such as the Register of the Gild of Corpus Christi in York from 1389, which lists a Johannes Molyneux. Another early reference is found in the Poll Tax Returns of Yorkshire from 1379, mentioning a Willelmus Molyneux.
One notable figure was Sir William Molyneux (1548-1598), a Member of Parliament and Lord Lieutenant of Lancashire. He was involved in suppressing the Northern Rebellion against Queen Elizabeth I in 1569.
Another prominent individual was Samuel Molyneux (1689-1728), an English astronomer and philosopher who was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1688. He made significant contributions to the study of optics and celestial mechanics.
In the 18th century, William Molyneux (1656-1698), an Irish philosopher and writer, is remembered for the famous "Molyneux's Problem" related to vision and perception, which he proposed to John Locke.
The Molyneux family name is also associated with the town of Molineux in Wolverhampton, England, which lent its name to the Molineux Stadium, home of the Wolverhampton Wanderers football club.
Other notable figures with the Mollineux surname include Sir Thomas Mollineux (1638-1703), an English physician and philosopher, and James Mollineaux Montgomerie (1778-1858), a British naval officer and colonial administrator.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mollineaux
Among Census respondents with the surname Mollineaux, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.3%. The next largest groups are Black (9.7%) and Two or More Races (1.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Mollineaux bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Mollineaux surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.3% · 92
- Black or African American9.7% · 10
- Two or more races1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mollineaux
Mollineaux appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#139,228
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 120
+12 bearers (+11.1%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 2,560 places
2020
#154,182
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 103
-17 bearers (-14.2%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 14,954 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #141,788 | 108 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #139,228 | 120 | 0.04 | +12 bearers (+11.1%) | Up 2,560 places |
| 2020 | #154,182 | 103 | 0.03 | -17 bearers (-14.2%) | Down 14,954 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Mollineaux surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #139,228 | #154,182 | -10.7% |
| Count | 120 | 103 | -14.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -13.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mollineaux bearers went from 120 to 103 (-14.2% change). The surname moved down 14,954 positions in the national ranking, going from #139,228 to #154,182.
FAQ
Mollineaux surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mollineaux?
Name Census estimates that about 118 living Americans carry the surname Mollineaux. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,904,698 residents.
How common is Mollineaux?
Mollineaux ranks #154,182 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 103 people with the surname Mollineaux. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (118), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Mollineaux.
Has Mollineaux become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mollineaux went from 120 recorded bearers to 103. That is a decrease of 17 (-14.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #139,228 to #154,182.
What does the Census say about the background of Mollineaux?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mollineaux, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.3%. The next largest groups are Black (9.7%) and Two or More Races (1.0%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Mollineaux in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.3% (92 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mollineaux appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.3%), Black (9.7%), Two or More Races (1.0%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Mollineaux (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Mollineaux mean?
A French surname denoting someone who lived near a windmill. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Mollineaux (0.03 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the surname Mollineaux?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.