Molyneux (surname)

Molyneux
Family name
The Cross moline became a common theme in the seal of most Molyneux descents.
Meaning	"Moulineaux", derived from the French Moulin (meaning "mill of the waters")
Region of origin	France
Language(s) of origin	Old Norman
Related names	Mullinax,Mullenax, Molinex, Mullinix, Mullenneix, Mullennix, Mullineaux, Molinieux, Molinaux, Molineaux, Mollineaux, Molineux,Mulling, Molyneaux

Molyneux (/ˈmɒlᵻnjuː/; 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.