The Mullen surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 37,502 people carried this name — #928 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 7,870 people counted. That is up 3% from 36,442 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Mullen surname

As a surname in the United Kingdom

Harrison classes it as a Celtic name: ‘Shaven One; Monk, Disciple’.

From the Irish and Gaelic Maolán: maol, “bald”, with the diminutive -án.

From Henry Harrison, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary, vol. II (London: The Morland Press, 1918), p. 32 · public domain.

In Argentina’s national register

At least 76 people named Mullen 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.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Buenos Aires Province 57
City of Buenos Aires 19

RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.

In the Nordic population registers

34 people named Mullen is counted in Sweden.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 34

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).

In Scotland’s registers today

Mullen was recorded 91 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 286th most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 155. Each birth counts the child’s surname, each marriage both partners’ and each death the surname of the person who died — a yearly count of registrations, not of the people who live in Scotland.

National Records of Scotland, «Most Common Surnames, 2025» (published 26 May 2026): every surname recorded 10 or more times in the 2025 registers, and the series from 1975 · different spellings are counted separately — © Crown copyright 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

59 families named Mullen, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 282 people lived in those households, 4.8 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 3 other spellings. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

North Carolina 20
Pennsylvania 18
Maryland 6
South Carolina 6
Virginia 4
New York 3
New Hampshire 1
Massachusetts 1

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 254 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Mullen in American newspapers,
1906–1927.

Newspaper page from The Barre Daily Times carrying the name Mullen
The Barre Daily Times 1906-04-06
Newspaper page from Rawlins Republican carrying the name Mullen
Rawlins Republican 1910-11-03
Newspaper page from The Milwaukee Leader carrying the name Mullen
The Milwaukee Leader 1927-06-07

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain.

In print

Mullen in Australian newspapers,
1830s–1990s.

48,806 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Mullen. The most, 7,461, date from the 1880s. New South Wales has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in Victoria, at 1.3 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 16,382
Victoria 15,448
Queensland 8,440
South Australia 4,602
Western Australia 2,220
Tasmania 1,537
ACT (Canberra) 115
Northern Territory 21

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Mullen.

Who carried it

People named Mullen,
with a public archive behind them.

  • William Edward Mullen
    William Edward Mullen 1866–1945 · lawyer
  • Jim Mullen
    Jim Mullen 1877–1956 · baseball player
  • Madeleine ffrench Mullen
    Madeleine ffrench Mullen 1880–1944 · revolutionary
  • David B. Mullen
    David B. Mullen 1885–1940
  • Frank Aloysius Mullen
    Frank Aloysius Mullen 1887–1945 · competitive diver

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 242 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Mullen,
in the records of 9 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States10,000 records

10,000 records of the Mullen name in the United States
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 3,119
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 2,763
  • Other U.S. records 4,118
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Jim George Mullen

    Born 1930; from Sunflower County, Mississippi. U.S. Army, light weapons infantryman; killed in action 1951 in North Korea. Buried at Paul Cemetery, Cascilla, Mississippi.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Daniel Jerry Mullen

    Born 1950; from Gulf Breeze, Florida. U.S. Army, infantryman; killed in action 1971 in Quang Tin, South Vietnam. Buried at Barrancas National Cemetery, Florida.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Jasper Mullen

    Born 1924 in Kentucky. Enlisted 1943 at Fort Thomas Newport; farm hand from Scott County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1954, buried at Camp Nelson National Cemetery, Kentucky.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)

Showing 3 of 10,000 records for Mullen in the United States.

Counts: NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL) · New York State, Open NY (police and firefighter memorial rolls). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain).

Australia1,035 records

1,035 records of the Mullen name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 470
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 222
  • Other Australian records 343
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Martha Mullen

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Emma Eugenia, sailing from Portsmouth in 1846. Native of Carlisle, Cumberland. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1850. Married 1850 in Great Swanport, Tasmania, aged 22.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record John Edward Mullen

    Born 1913 in Burnie, Tasmania. Died 1935 in Tasmania, aged 22.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Bridget Mullen

    Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1853. Married 1853 in Richmond, Tasmania, aged 20.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 1,035 records for Mullen in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

Canada565 records

565 records of the Mullen name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 515
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 12
  • Other Canadian records 38
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Alex Mullen

    Came to Ontario in 1881 aboard the Sardinian, landing at Boston, bound for Bowmanville, Ontario; Scotch.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Agnes Rae Mullen

    Buried in 1979 at Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia, aged 67.

    Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax.
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record William Lorin Mullen

    Died 1966 in Havelock, Digby, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.

Showing 3 of 565 records for Mullen in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Ireland106 records

106 records of the Mullen name in Ireland County Galway graveyard records
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Michael Mullen

    Died 1931, aged 29; buried at Ballinakill, Co. Galway.

    Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Patrick Mullen

    Died 1996, aged 84; buried at Lettermullen Cúigeal Leitir Mealláin, Co. Galway.

    Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Joseph Mullen

    Died 1997, aged 27; buried at Cortoon, Co. Galway.

    Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 106 records for Mullen in Ireland.

Counts: Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

Netherlands57 records

57 records of the Mullen name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch population registers 30
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 14
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 13
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Maria Lucia Müllen

    Married in 1923 in Schaesberg; seamstress, born 1890 in Neu-Moresnet, Belgium.

    Open Archives, Regionaal Historisch Centrum Limburg (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record James Jerome Mullen

    Died 1969 in Hedel, aged 19.

    Open Archives, Regionaal Archief Rivierenland (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Elizabeth Susanna Mullen

    In the population register of Sint Laurens; domestic servant, born 1862 in Vlissingen.

    Open Archives, Zeeuws Archief (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 57 records for Mullen in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

United Kingdom53 records

53 records of the Mullen name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 29
  • Stirling Council burial records 21
  • Scottish rolls of honour, First World War 3
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Robert Mullen

    Died 1998, aged 95; buried at Bannockburn Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record John Mullen

    Died 1918. Named in the roll of honour (1926).

    National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain)
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record H. Mullen

    West Yorkshire Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Showing 3 of 53 records for Mullen in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Germany20 records

20 records of the Mullen name in Germany Germany's First World War casualty lists, 1914–1919
  1. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Karl Müllen

    From Lutzerath. Reported wounded in the Prussian casualty list of 15 October 1915 (Landwehr Infantry Regiment No. 8).

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)
  2. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Josef Müllen

    From Cröv, Wittlich. Reported wounded in the Prussian casualty list of 18 October 1917.

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)

Showing 2 of 20 records for Mullen in Germany.

Counts: Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Deutsche Verlustlisten, Prussian list 1116, 18 April 1918 (scan via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0).

New Zealand12 records

12 records of the Mullen name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 11
  • Marlborough District cemetery records 1
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Florence Agnes Mullen

    Died 1983, aged 94; buried at Bromley Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Ruth Marion Mullen

    Died 1997, aged 53; buried at Fairhall Cemetery, Marlborough.

    Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 2 of 12 records for Mullen in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

France5 records

5 records of the Mullen name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Juliette Mullen

    Born 1925 in Hambach; died 1998 in Saint-Quirin (Moselle).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  2. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Robert Georges Mullen

    Born 1936 in Francaltroff (Moselle); died 1995 in Vichy (Allier).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 2 of 5 records for Mullen in France.

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Mullen.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Mullen 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.

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