2000
#4,760
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,809
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.52
Rare Last name
Mulder
A Dutch occupational surname referring to a miller or someone who grinds grain.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 8,293 Americans carry the last name Mulder. That puts it at #4,743 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.42 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 41,331 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mulder 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Mulder with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
8.3K
1 in 41,331
Census rank
#4,743
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
7.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 7,232 bearers of the surname Mulder in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.42 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4743rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mulder, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Mulder
The surname Mulder originates from the Netherlands, where it first emerged in the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Dutch word "molder," which means a miller or someone who operates a mill for grinding grain. The name is believed to have been an occupational surname initially given to millers or those associated with the milling trade.
In the early 13th century, the name appeared in various Dutch records and documents, often with slight variations in spelling, such as "Molder," "Moulder," or "Muldere." One of the earliest known references to the name is found in the Utrecht Archives, where a certain "Gherardus Muldere" is mentioned in a document dated 1276.
The Mulder surname can also be traced back to several place names in the Netherlands, such as Mulder, a small village in the province of Overijssel, and Mulderij, a hamlet in the province of Gelderland. These place names likely derived from the same occupational origin as the surname, indicating a connection to mills or milling activities in those areas.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the Mulder surname. One of the earliest recorded was Gerrit Mulder (c. 1515-1585), a Dutch cartographer and navigator who accompanied the Spanish expeditions to the Americas in the 16th century. Later, in the 17th century, Jan Mulder (1619-1678) was a renowned Dutch mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the field of optics.
In the 19th century, Gerardus Johannes Mulder (1802-1880), a Dutch chemist and professor at Utrecht University, gained recognition for his work on proteins and organic chemistry. He is considered one of the pioneers in the study of biochemistry.
Another notable figure was Hendrik Mulder (1876-1957), a Dutch politician and statesman who served as the Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 1945 to 1946, leading the country during the post-World War II reconstruction period.
More recently, the name Mulder gained international recognition through the fictional character Fox Mulder, played by actor David Duchovny in the popular television series "The X-Files," which aired from 1993 to 2018.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mulder
Among Census respondents with the surname Mulder, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Mulder 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 Mulder surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.9% · 6,504
- Two or more races3.5% · 256
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 202
- Black or African American2.4% · 176
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 73
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 21
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mulder
Mulder 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
#4,822
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,317
+508 bearers (+7.5%)
Per 100,000 2.48
Rank movement Down 62 places
2020
#4,743
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,232
-85 bearers (-1.2%)
Per 100,000 2.42
Rank movement Up 79 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,760 | 6,809 | 2.52 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,822 | 7,317 | 2.48 | +508 bearers (+7.5%) | Down 62 places |
| 2020 | #4,743 | 7,232 | 2.42 | -85 bearers (-1.2%) | Up 79 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 Mulder 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 | #4,822 | #4,743 | 1.6% |
| Count | 7,317 | 7,232 | -1.2% |
| Per 100K | 2.48 | 2.42 | -2.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mulder bearers went from 7,317 to 7,232 (-1.2% change). The surname moved up 79 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,822 to #4,743.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Mulder
FAQ
Mulder surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mulder?
Name Census estimates that about 8,293 living Americans carry the surname Mulder. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 41,331 residents.
How common is Mulder?
Mulder ranks #4,743 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.42 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 7,232 people with the surname Mulder. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (8,293), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.42 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.42 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Mulder.
Has Mulder become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mulder went from 7,317 recorded bearers to 7,232. That is a decrease of 85 (-1.2%). In the national ranking it rose from #4,822 to #4,743.
What does the Census say about the background of Mulder?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mulder, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (2.8%). 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 Mulder in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.9% (6,504 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mulder appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.9%), Two or More Races (3.5%), Hispanic (2.8%). 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 Mulder (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 Mulder mean?
A Dutch occupational surname referring to a miller or someone who grinds grain. 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 Mulder (2.42 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 last name Mulder?
You can see how many people have the surname Mulder on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.