De Molines
| Molyneux | |
|---|---|
| Language(s) | Old Norman |
| Origin | |
| Region of origin | France |
| Meaning | "Moulineaux", derived from the French Moulin (meaning "mill of the waters") |
| Other names | |
| Variant(s) | Mullenax, Mullinax, Molinex, Mullinix, Mullenneix, Mullennix, Mullineaux, Molinieux, Molinaux, Molineaux, Mollineaux, Molineux, Mulling, Molyneaux |
Molyneux (/ˈmɒlɪnjuː/; Old Norman: De Molines or De Moulins) is a French surname. The surname has been linked primarily to a large Norman family that settled in Lancashire, United Kingdom from Normandy following the Norman Conquest. By the 14th century the Molyneux family had become so large that it split into three main branches; the Lancashire line, who became the Earls of Sefton, the Nottingham line, and the Calais line, from family still left over in Normandy. There was also a branch of the family who were Irish baronets.
The ancestors of the Molyneaux family who arrived in England with the Normans bore the name "de Molines" or "de Moulins", Old Norman in origin, meaning "Mill", and eventually changed into "Molyneux". The early historical background of the family is sparse, coming from scattered genealogical, historical, and archaeological sources, composed of a mixture of legend, romanticized literary invention, and fact. Some historians derive the de Moulins came from Molineaux-sur-Seine, near Rouen, in Normandy where they were guardians of Château de Robert-le-Diable. The earliest claimed common ancestor of the family is said to be Robert de Moulins of Château de Moulineaux in Molineaux-Sur-Seine, called a follower of William of Normandy, though no surviving source attests to his existence. Other sources claim the family originally came from Moulins, France. Wherever their origin, Robert de Moulins' son, William, settled in Lancashire. He had two sons William and Vivian de Moulins. Roger the Poitevin who possessed large tracts of land in Lancashire in what was then called inter Mersam et Ripam, that is, "between the Mersey and the Ribble" by gift of the crown gave Molyneux large land holdings and the manors of Septon (Sefton), Thornton, Cuerden, ten carucates and a half of land, at the service of half a knight's fee. William Molyneux made Septon his chief seat and was succeeded by Vivian de Molyneux.
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