Contents [hide]

Millen History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Ireland United States Canada Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Motto Citations

Millen History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Scotland
Ireland

Originally, Millen was a nickname for a bald person; the name may refer to a member of a religious order. The Gaelic forms of the name are Mac Mhaolain or Mac Ghille Mhaoil, both of which mean son of the bald or tonsured one.

However, the origins of the Clan have been shrouded in uncertainty, largely as a result of historians of the Clan Buchanan, and their insistence that both Clans have a common ancestry. Buchanan of Auchmar says that the MacMillans are descended from Methlan, second son of Anselan, a Buchanan Chief of the thirteenth century. His theory supports the Buchanan claim that the MacMillans are but a sept (sub-Clan) of the Buchanan rather than a Clan in their own right. This theory is supported by the contention that both Clans have an ecclesiastical origin: MacMillan being Anglicized from Maolanach, meaning a 'priest.' However, tradition may more properly ascribe the origin from a particular tribe in Moray that has descended from the ancient Pictish tribe of Kanteai, thought to have existed in the first half of the second century AD.

Early Origins of the Millen family

The surname Millen was first found in at Tayside, where in 1263 Cilleonan MacMolan appears on documents. 1 They arrived in Strathtay from the lands in Loch Arkaig after King Malcolm IV transplanted many Clans, including the MacMillans, from that region about 1160 AD. Later, about 1350, the Camerons, who had changed their name to Chalmers, drove them from their Strathtay territories.

In vacating the Strathtay, the Clan branched to many other areas, including Lochaber, Argyll and Galloway. The senior branch, however, were the MacMillans of Knapdale, and they held a grant from the Lord of the Isles inscribed in Latin on a rock at Knap: 'MacMillan's right to Knap shall be, as long as this rock withstands the sea.'

Malcolm Mor MacMillan had received this rock by the 14th century. His grandson Lachlan MacMillan died at the Battle of Harlaw in 1411. Lachlan's son, Alan MacMillan of Knap, married the McNeill heiress and took over the Castle Sween. He erected a cross, which still stands to this day in Kilmory churchyard. The cross stands better than twelve feet high and is elaborately engraved, showing a Highland Chief hunting a deer on one side, and a claymore surmounted by certain Clan members on the other.

Early History of the Millen family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Millen research. Another 267 words (19 lines of text) covering the years 1452, 1454, 1540, 1555, 1670, 1745, 1753, 1775 and 1790 are included under the topic Early Millen History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Millen Spelling Variations

Spelling variations were extremely common in medieval names, since scribes from that era recorded names according to sound rather than a standard set of rules. Millen has appeared in various documents spelled MacMillan, MacMullan, MacMullen, McMullen, McMullin, McMullan, McMillan, MacMullin and many more.

Early Notables of the Millen family

Notable amongst the Clan from early times was Sir Duncan Macmolane, a Pope's knight, chaplain of the collegiate church of Kilmone, 1452; John Macmulan (Makmilane, or Makmylan), bailie (baillie) of Glasgow in 1454; Sir Fingon Makmulane, who was presented in 1540 to the chaplainry of Tibbermore in the diocese of...
Another 49 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Millen Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Millen Ranking

In the United States, the name Millen is the 8,711^st most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 2

Migration of the Millen family to Ireland

Some of the Millen family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 89 words (6 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Millen migration to the United States +

Descendents of Dalriadan-Scottish families still populate many communities across North America. They are particularly common in Canada, since many went north as United Empire Loyalists at the time of the American War of Independence. Much later, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the highland games and Clan societies that now dot North America sprang up, allowing many Scots to recover their lost national heritage. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America bore the name Millen, or a variant listed above:

Millen Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Barthol. Millen, who arrived in Virginia in 1642
Barthol Millen, who landed in Virginia in 1642 3
Heebert Millen, who arrived in Virginia in 1651
Elizabeth Millen, who landed in Maryland in 1673 3

Millen Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Peter Millen, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1750 3
Robert Millen, who settled in Virginia in 1752
John Millen, who landed in America in 1765 3
Charles Millen, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1772

Millen Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

William Millen, aged 28, who arrived in New York, NY in 1812 3
James Millen, aged 26, who arrived in New York, NY in 1812 3
Hugh Millen, who landed in Maryland in 1824 3
Nancy Millen, aged 35, who arrived in Mobile, Ala in 1851 3
Jan Millen, who landed in Iowa in 1854 3

Millen migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Millen Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Ann Millen, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick from Ireland in 1842

Millen migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Millen Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. John Millen who was convicted in Kent, England for life, transported aboard the "Bengal Merchant" on 4th August 1836, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 4
Ellen Millen, aged 20, a domestic servant, who arrived in South Australia in 1855 aboard the ship "Bucephalus"

Millen migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Millen Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. William Millen, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Spray of the Ocean" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 1st September 1859 5
Mr. William G Millen, (b. 1859), aged 18, Scottish settler travelling from Glasgow aboard the ship "Marlborough" arriving in Bluff, South Island, New Zealand on 4th November 1877 6

Contemporary Notables of the name Millen (post 1700) +

John M. Millen, American leader of the Antarctic expedition 1962-1963, eponym of the Millen Range, Antarctica
Hugh Breedlove Millen (b. 1963), former professional American NFL football player
Matthew George "Matt" Millen (b. 1958), American former NFL linebacker and a former football executive
Corey Eugene Millen (b. 1964), retired American NHL ice hockey center
John Millen (1804-1843), American politician and lawyer, US Representative from Georgia
Stephen Richard Millen, American politician, Socialist Workers Candidate for Presidential Elector for Indiana, 1972 7
John Millen (1804-1843), American Democratic Party politician, Member of Georgia State Legislature; U.S. Representative from Georgia at-large, 1843 7
H. A. Millen, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Arkansas, 1872 7
George W. Millen (b. 1863), American Republican politician, Member of Michigan State Senate 12th District, 1919-20 7
Chauncey H. Millen, American politician, Presidential Elector for Michigan, 1856 7
... (Another 10 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

The Millen Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Miseris succurrere disco
Motto Translation: I learn to succour the distressed.

Citations +

Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 7th October 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/bengal-merchant
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 14) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html