2000
#12,767
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,218
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.82
Rare Last name
Mullenix
Derived from a place name meaning "mill on the banks" in Old English, likely referring to a miller's residence.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,490 Americans carry the last name Mullenix. That puts it at #13,406 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.73 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 137,652 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mullenix 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
2.5K
1 in 137,652
Census rank
#13,406
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,171 bearers of the surname Mullenix in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.73 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13406th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mullenix, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.1%) and Hispanic (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Mullenix
The surname Mullenix has its origins in Germany, where it first appeared in the 14th century. It is believed to be derived from the German word "Mühle," meaning mill, and "Nix," which refers to a mythical water sprite or creature. This suggests that the name may have initially been associated with those who lived or worked near a mill or waterway.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Mullenix surname can be found in the town of Mülheim, located in the Ruhr region of Germany. In a document dated 1375, a man named Henrich Mullenix is mentioned as a resident of the town. This suggests that the name had already been established in the area by that time.
In the 16th century, the Mullenix surname appears in various records and manuscripts across Germany. Notable examples include Johannes Mullenix, a merchant from Cologne born in 1543, and Hans Mullenix, a farmer from the town of Meerbusch, mentioned in a land registry from 1572.
As the name spread throughout Europe, it underwent various spelling variations, including Mullenicks, Mullinix, and Muhllenix. These variations reflected regional dialects and linguistic influences, but they all stemmed from the same Germanic root.
One of the earliest known individuals with the Mullenix surname outside of Germany was Jakob Mullenix, born in 1622 in the village of Nieder-Ingelheim, located in the Rhineland-Palatinate region. He later immigrated to the Dutch Republic, where he worked as a miller, further reinforcing the connection between the name and the milling trade.
In the 18th century, the Mullenix surname made its way to North America, with several individuals bearing the name arriving as immigrants from Germany and other parts of Europe. One notable figure was Johann Mullenix, born in 1703 in the town of Worms, Germany. He sailed to Pennsylvania in 1738 and settled in the region, where he became a prominent landowner and farmer.
Another significant figure in the history of the Mullenix surname was William Mullenix, born in 1767 in Virginia. He served as a soldier in the American Revolutionary War and later became a respected community leader in his local area.
Throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, the Mullenix surname continued to be found across various parts of the United States and Canada, with individuals from this lineage contributing to various fields, including agriculture, business, and public service.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mullenix
Among Census respondents with the surname Mullenix, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.1%) and Hispanic (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Mullenix 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 Mullenix surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.9% · 1,974
- Two or more races4.1% · 88
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 63
- Black or African American1.0% · 22
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 13
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 11
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mullenix
Mullenix 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
#13,483
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,254
+36 bearers (+1.6%)
Per 100,000 0.76
Rank movement Down 716 places
2020
#13,406
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,171
-83 bearers (-3.7%)
Per 100,000 0.73
Rank movement Up 77 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,767 | 2,218 | 0.82 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,483 | 2,254 | 0.76 | +36 bearers (+1.6%) | Down 716 places |
| 2020 | #13,406 | 2,171 | 0.73 | -83 bearers (-3.7%) | Up 77 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 Mullenix 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 | #13,483 | #13,406 | 0.6% |
| Count | 2,254 | 2,171 | -3.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.76 | 0.73 | -4.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mullenix bearers went from 2,254 to 2,171 (-3.7% change). The surname moved up 77 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,483 to #13,406.
FAQ
Mullenix surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mullenix?
Name Census estimates that about 2,490 living Americans carry the surname Mullenix. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 137,652 residents.
How common is Mullenix?
Mullenix ranks #13,406 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.73 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,171 people with the surname Mullenix. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,490), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.73 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.73 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Mullenix.
Has Mullenix become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mullenix went from 2,254 recorded bearers to 2,171. That is a decrease of 83 (-3.7%). In the national ranking it rose from #13,483 to #13,406.
What does the Census say about the background of Mullenix?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mullenix, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.1%) and Hispanic (2.9%). 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 Mullenix in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.9% (1,974 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mullenix appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.9%), Two or More Races (4.1%), Hispanic (2.9%). 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 Mullenix (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 Mullenix mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "mill on the banks" in Old English, likely referring to a miller's residence. 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 Mullenix (0.73 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 Mullenix?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.