The Molina surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 96,979 people carried this name — #320 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 3,040 people counted. That is up 38% from 70,211 in 2000.
What the name means
The meaning of the Molina surname
From Spanish and Italian, both from Latin Molina "of a mill", from mola "mill" + -ina.
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Molina» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 156,655 people named Molina live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 2,082 people named Molina.
Most of them — 1,053 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 70 départements, most often Hauts-de-Seine.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
661 people named Molina live in Switzerland.
They live in 18 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Geneva.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In Belgium’s population register
At least 27 people named Molina live in Belgium.
Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Hainaut.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In the Nordic population registers
180 people named Molina are counted in Sweden and Finland.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published. Finland counts its citizens, at home or abroad.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown) · Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV), Finland, surname statistics, August 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In print
Molina in American newspapers,
1896–1912.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 46,631 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Molina,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Pedro Molina Mazariegos 1777–1854 · politician -
Manuela Medina 1780–1822 · military personnel -
Pedro Molina y Sotomayor 1781–1862 · politician -
Samuel Molina 1812–1880 · politician -
Cirilo Molina Cros 1818–1904 · lawyer
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 215 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Molina.
- Moles 2,778 · U.S. census
- Molet 132 · U.S. census
- Molette 443 · U.S. census
- Moley 263 · U.S. census
- Moliere 349 · U.S. census
- Molin 784 · U.S. census
- Molinari 3,019 · U.S. census
- Molinaro 2,984 · U.S. census
- Molinas 188 · U.S. census
- Moline 3,296 · U.S. census
- Molinelli 433 · U.S. census
- Molinero 562 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Molina is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.