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

Mullens, 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 Mullens surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Mullens in America

Mullens is the 7859th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Mullens surname appeared 4,210 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 Mullens.

We can also compare 2010 data for Mullens 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 Mullens

The surname Mullens is of Irish origin, deriving from the Gaelic personal name Muiris, a diminutive form of the name Muireadhaigh. This name ultimately derives from the Old Irish muir, meaning "sea."

The Mullens surname is thought to have originated in County Kerry, located in the southwest of Ireland. It is believed to have emerged as a hereditary surname in the 11th or 12th century, as Irish families began adopting surnames based on personal names or characteristics.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Mullens surname can be found in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history. In the entry for the year 1172, a member of the Mullens family is mentioned as having participated in a battle against the Norman invaders.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Mullens family held lands in County Kerry and County Cork. They were among the many Irish families who faced persecution and dispossession during the Tudor and Cromwellian conquests of Ireland.

Notable individuals bearing the Mullens surname throughout history include Dermot Mullens (c. 1550-1630), a renowned Irish priest and scholar who authored several works on Irish history and language. Another notable figure was John Mullens (1667-1721), an Irish-born soldier who fought in the Williamite War and later served as a member of the British Parliament.

In the 18th century, Patrick Mullens (1738-1811) was a prominent Irish-American merchant and landowner in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He played a significant role in the American Revolutionary War, providing supplies and financial support to the Continental Army.

Other notable figures include Mary Mullens (1820-1892), an Irish-American labor activist and one of the founders of the Knights of Labor, a prominent labor union in the late 19th century. In the field of literature, Patrick Mullens (1862-1928) was an Irish poet and journalist known for his works celebrating Irish culture and heritage.

The Mullens surname has also been found in various spellings throughout history, such as Mullen, Mullin, and Mullins, reflecting regional variations and scribal practices of the time.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Mullens

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

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 Mullens 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 Mullens 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 Mullens was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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