Show ContentsMilne History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Milne Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Etymology of Milne

What does the name Milne mean?

The Milne surname is derived from the Old English word "mylen," which means "mill." As such, it was likely originally an occupational name for a miller, or perhaps for someone who lived near a mill. 1 2 3 4

Early Origins of the Milne family

The surname Milne was first found in Yorkshire, where the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 include entries for Thomas atte Milne; B. Petrus atte Milne; Johannes de Milne; Thomas atte Milne; Robertus del Milne. 3

The surname was prominently found in Roxburghshire, Scotland 5 but is also "a very common surname in Aberdeenshire." 6 "Hugh de molendino and Johannes de Molendino in the parish of Fyvy were excommunicated in 1382. A family of this name were fanners at the Mill of Boyndie for generations. In 1492 we have record of "Johne of Myll, duelland at the Justice Myll", and in 1503 John of Myle at the Myle of Pitcapile was "accusit for strublance" 6

Early History of the Milne family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Milne research. Another 271 words (19 lines of text) covering the years 1502, 1528, 1558, 1575, 1583, 1585, 1610, 1611, 1617, 1633, 1657, 1667, 1668, 1688, 1710 and 1721 are included under the topic Early Milne History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Milne Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Milne, Milnes, Miln, Mylne and others.

Early Notables of the Milne family

  • Walter Milne (died April 1558), the last Protestant martyr to be burned at the stake for heresy in Scotland

Milne World Ranking

the United States, the name Milne is the 4,418th most popular surname with an estimated 7,461 people with that name. 7 However, in Canada, the name Milne is ranked the 767th most popular surname with an estimated 6,971 people with that name. 8 And in Australia, the name Milne is the 357th popular surname with an estimated 10,165 people with that name. 9 New Zealand ranks Milne as 157th with 3,238 people. 10 The United Kingdom ranks Milne as 403rd with 16,125 people. 11

Milne migration to the United States +



Milne Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Francis Milne, who landed in Maryland in 1707 12
  • William Milne, who settled in Philadelphia in 1774
  • William Milne, aged 19, who landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1774 12
Milne Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Andrew Milne, who arrived in America in 1806 12
  • Robert Milne, aged 26, who landed in Maryland in 1813 12
  • A Milne, aged 22, who landed in New York, NY in 1822 12
  • Sarah and Joseph Milne, who settled in New York in 1823 with their two children
  • James H Milne, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1866 12
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Milne Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
  • George Francis Milne, who arrived in Colorado in 1907 12

Milne migration to Canada +

Milne Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century
  • Mr. Alexander Milne U.E. who settled in Saint John, New Brunswick c. 1784 13
Milne Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century
  • John Milne, aged 23, Scottish labourer who sailed aboard the ship "SS Nestorian"from Scotland arriving in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada in 1881 14

Milne migration to Australia +

Milne Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Mr. George Milne, (Mill, King, William), (b. 1808), aged 22, Scottish convict who was convicted in Aberdeen, Scotland for 14 years, transported aboard the "Burrell" on 22nd July 1830, arriving in New South Wales, he died in 1843 15
  • Mr. George Fyfe Milne, Scottish convict who was convicted in Aberdeen, Scotland for 7 years, transported aboard the "Florentia" on 11th August 1830, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 16
  • Mr. Francis Milne who was convicted in Edinburgh, Scotland for 7 years, transported aboard the "Bengal Merchant" on 4th August 1836, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 17
  • Mr. Wardon Laws Milne who was convicted in Edinburgh, Scotland for 14 years, transported aboard the "Bengal Merchant" on 4th August 1836, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 17
  • Robert Milne, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Anna Robertson" in 1839 18
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Milne 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:

Milne Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Archibald Milne, who arrived in Port Nicholson aboard the ship "Lady Nugent" in 1841
  • Alexander Milne, aged 26, who arrived in Port Nicholson aboard the ship "Lady Nugent" in 1841
  • Margaret Milne, aged 24, who arrived in Port Nicholson aboard the ship "Lady Nugent" in 1841
  • William Scott Milne, aged 16, a carpenter, who arrived in Port Nicholson aboard the ship "Lady Nugent" in 1841
  • Mr. Archibald Milne, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Lady Nugent" arriving in Wellington, New Zealand on 17th March 1841 19
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Milne migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 20
Milne Settlers in West Indies in the 18th Century
  • Peter Milne, who settled in Jamaica in 1774

Contemporary Notables of the name Milne (post 1700) +

  • Rielly Milne (1996-2024), American rower, who competed at the 2024 Summer Olympics
  • Donald George Milne (1934-2016), American lawyer and politician, Member of the Vermont House of Representatives (1967)
  • Marion Carson Milne (1935-2014), American businessperson and politician. Member of the Vermont House of Representatives (1995-2001)
  • Alexander Milne (1742-1838), Scottish American entrepreneur and philanthropist, eponym of Milneburg, Louisiana
  • MacGillivray Milne (1882-1959), United States Navy Captain, the 27th Governor of American Samoa (1936 to 1938)
  • Joshua Milne (1776-1851), English actuary
  • Captain John Theobald Milne MC (1895-1917), English fighter pilot and flying ace in the Royal Flying Corps during the First World War credited with nine aerial victories
  • Edward Arthur Milne FRS (1896-1950), English astrophysicist, eponym of the Milne lunar crater
  • Alan Alexander "A. A." Milne (1882-1956), English author, best known for his books about the teddy bear Winnie-the-Pooh and for various children's poems
  • ... (Another 23 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Cataraqui
  • Francis Milne, British crew aboard the ship "Cataraqui" when sailing for Melbourne, Australia she struck rocks of Kings Island and sank on 4th April 1845, he survived
  • Laurence Victor Milne (d. 1945), British Able Seaman aboard the HMS Dorsetshire when she was struck by air bombers and sunk; he died in the sinking 21
  • Mr. Milne, British Able Seaman, who sailed into battle on the HMS Prince of Wales (1941) and survived the sinking 22
  • Mr. Edward G Milne, British sailor, who sailed into battle on the HMS Repulse (1941) and survived the sinking 23
  • Miss Caroline Milne, English 1st Class Passenger, nurse to Master Stephens residing in Montréal, Quebec, Canada, who sailed aboard the RMS Lusitania (1915) and died in the sinking 24
  • ... (Another 1 entries are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

The Milne 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: Tam arte quam marte
Motto Translation: As much by art as strength.
  1. Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
  2. Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
  3. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  4. Sims, Clifford Stanley The Origin and Signification of Scottish Surnames. 1862. Print.
  5. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
  6. 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)
  7. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  8. "Surnames Meanings, Origins & Distribution Maps - Forebears." Forebears, https://forebears.io/surnames
  9. "Most Common Last Names in Australia." Forebears, https://forebears.io/australia/surnames
  10. "Most Common Last Names in New Zealand." Forebears, https://forebears.io/new-zealand/surnames
  11. "UK surname ranking." UK Surname map, https://www.surnamemap.eu/unitedkingdom/surnames_ranking.php?p=10
  12. 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)
  13. Rubincam, Milton. The Old United Empire Loyalists List. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1976. (Originally published as; United Empire Loyalists. The Centennial of the Settlement of Upper Canada. Rose Publishing Company, 1885.) ISBN 0-8063-0331-X
  14. Retrieved from Canada Government lists, retrieved on 26th July 2023. Retreived from https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/immigration/immigration-records/passenger-lists/passenger-lists-1865-1922/Pages/introduction.aspx
  15. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 5th November 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/burrell
  16. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 11th October 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/florentia
  17. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 7th October 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/bengal-merchant
  18. State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) ANNA ROBERTSON 1839. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1839AnnaRobertson.htm
  19. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
  20. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
  21. Force Z Survivors HMS Dorsetshire Crew List, (Retrieved 2018, February 13th), https://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listdorsetshirecrew.html
  22. HMS Prince of Wales Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listprincecrew.html
  23. HMS Repulse Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listrepulsecrew.html
  24. Lusitania Passenger List - The Lusitania Resource. (Retrieved 2014, March 6) . Retrieved from http://www.rmslusitania.info/lusitania-passenger-list/

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