Miller History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

It was in the Scottish/English Borderlands that the Strathclyde-Briton people first used the ancient name Miller. It was a name for someone who lived in the county of Dumfries.

Early Origins of the Miller family

The surname Miller was first found in Dumfriesshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd Dhùn Phris), a Southern area, bordering on England that today forms part of the Dumfries and GallowayCouncil Area, where the Miller family held a family seat from ancient times. One line had its ancestral seat at Dalswinton, Dumfriesshire. During the Middle Ages, occupational names were frequently recorded in Latin; thus, one who worked at a mill would have been documented under the name Milendinarius, Le Molendinator, or De Molendino. The modern spellings “Miller” and “Millar” came into general use about 1500; earlier documents usually show the name in Latin.

Early History of the Miller family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Miller research.

Miller Spelling Variations

Scribes in Medieval Scotland spelled names by sound rather than any set of rules, so an enormous number of spelling variations exist in names of that era. Miller has been spelled Miller, Millar, Myllar, Mylar, Millare, Myllair and many more.

Miller World Ranking

In the United States, the name Miller is the 7^th most popular surname with an estimated 1,054,488 people with that name. [1] However, in Canada, the name Miller is ranked the 18^thmost popular surname with an estimated 63,126 people with that name. [2] And in Quebec, Canada, the name Miller is the 512^nd popular surname. [3] Newfoundland, Canada ranks Miller as 49^th with 480 people. [4] France ranks Miller as 3,361^st with 2,000 – 2,500 people. [5] Australiaranks Miller as 38^th with 45,832 people. [6] New Zealand ranks Miller as 36^th with 5,567 people. [7] The United Kingdom ranks Miller as 54^th with 76,379 people. [8] Russia ranks Miller as 383^rdwith 41,539 people. [9] South Africa ranks Miller as 560^th with 12,463 people. [10]

 Migration of the Miller family to Ireland

Some of the Miller family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.

 Miller migration to the United States +

The number of Strathclyde Clan families sailing for North America increased steadily as the persecution continued. In the colonies, they could find not only freedom from the iron hand of the English government, but land to settle on. The American War of Independence allowed many of these settlers to prove their independence, while some chose to go to Canada as United Empire Loyalists. Scots played essential roles in the forging of both great nations. Among them: 

Miller Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

• Mr. Alexander Miller who arrived in Salem, Massachusetts in 1630 aboard the ship “Ambrose” as part of the Winthrop Fleet [11]
• Mr. Richard Miller, aged 12, from England who arrived in Virginia aboard the ship “America” arriving in June 1635 [11]
• Mr. Joseph Miller, aged 15, who arrived in New England in 1635 aboard the ship “Hopewell” [12]
• Mr. James Miller, aged 18, who arrived in Virginia in 1635 aboard the ship “Plain Joan” [12]
• Benjamin Miller, aged 30, who arrived in Bermuda, (Somers Islands) in 1635 aboard the ship “Truelove” [13]