Find out how popular the last name Molter is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Molter.

Molter, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Molter surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Molter in America

Molter is the 16087th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Molter surname appeared 1,800 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Molter.

We can also compare 2010 data for Molter to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Molter

The surname Molter is of German origin, emerging in the Middle Ages between the 11th and 13th centuries. The name is believed to have been derived from the German word "Molter," which refers to a miller or someone who operated a grain mill. Some variations of the spelling include Molitor, Mohlter, and Mollter.

The earliest known record of the name Molter can be found in the medieval city archives of Cologne, Germany, dating back to 1278. These records mention a "Johannes Molter," who was a local miller and landowner in the city at that time. Another early reference is in the tax records of the city of Mainz in 1312, where a "Heinrich Molter" is listed as a resident and taxpayer.

As the name became more widespread, it often reflected the occupation of the family or individual, as was common with many surnames during that era. In some cases, the name was also associated with certain geographic locations, such as Molter's Mill or Molter's Valley, where mills or milling activities were prevalent.

One of the earliest notable individuals with the surname Molter was Johannes Molter (c. 1435-1508), a German composer and organist who served as the court musician for the Elector of Saxony in the late 15th century. Another figure was Johann Melchior Molter (1696-1765), a German Baroque composer and violinist who was born in Karlsruhe and spent much of his career in the service of the Duke of Saxe-Meiningen.

In the 19th century, a prominent Molter was Christian Friedrich Molter (1805-1879), a German-born American Lutheran minister and educator who founded several schools and seminaries in the United States, including the German-English Academy in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Other notable individuals with the surname Molter include Hans Molter (1901-1998), a German Olympic equestrian who competed in the 1936 Berlin Olympics, and Ernst Molter (1904-1976), a German football player who played for Bayern Munich and the German national team in the 1920s and 1930s.

While the surname Molter has its roots in Germany, it has since spread to other parts of Europe and around the world, carried by families and individuals who migrated from their ancestral homelands over the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Molter

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Molter.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Molter was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Molter has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Molter was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Molter, please contact us.

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