Milne

The name is recorded in Aberdeenshire in 1380 and means 'at or near a corn-mill'. John Milne of Urquhart, Morayshire, born in 1659, was the father of Harry Milne (b.1695), 1st Laird of Chapelton, Forfar.

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Field-Marshal George Milne (1866-1948), descended from George Milne of Rosehearty, Aberdeenshire, who died in 1832, was created Lord Milne in 1933.

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The Milne family originated from Aberdeenshire, where they have been settled since the middle ages. However, the view that the name Milne is derived from the old English 'myln', in turn derived from the Latin 'molina', meaning 'mill', and thus referring to people living 'at or near a mill' is open to question, although it is an obvious and apparently plausible explanation. Where a name is associated with some physical object, such as a mill, one would expect that name to be as geographically widespread as the object itself, all other factors being equal. Although there are a number of surnames based on the word 'mill' , such as 'Mills', which are widespread, one must ask why the name 'Milne' was local to Aberdeen. The origin of the Milne name has not been investiagted sufficiently. For instance, was 'old English' (where the word for a mill was apparently 'myln' - see above), as opposed to the later form (where the word for a mill was 'mill') Gaelic was the predominant language in that part of Scotland until quite a late period. Most names originating in that area have Gaelic roots. A possible derivation of the Milne name that merits further investigation.

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(Earliest references to the name appear to be; during the reign of King Alexander III (1249-1286), of Scotland to one Adam Molendinarius, into whose death an inquest was held at the Castle of Dumfries (In this instance, 'molendinarius' probably means 'miller', referring to an occupation rather than a surname proper); a reference in 1364 to one Ade Molendinarius, in the service of the Roman Catholic Bishop of Moray upon receiving a remission and protection, probably also a reference to an occupation; a reference in 1382 to Hugh and Johannes de Molendino who were excommunicated at Fyvy, which seems to be the first reference to a surname as such.)

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According to the Lyon Clerk and Keeper of the Records (Court of the Lord Lyon) 'it would seem that there were people called de Molendino in Aberdeenshire in the 14th century and the name quickly moved into being Myll or Myln'. The words 'de Molendino' evidently occur in a charter (the 1382 charter referred to above), written in Latin, and mean 'of the mill'. It is possible that 'de Molendino' means exactly that, as in, say, 'John of the mill'. However, it is also possible that 'de Molendino' is a Latinized form of 'de Molyneux', derived from the French 'moulineau', a diminutive of 'moulin', meaning 'mill'. There was a Norman family called de Molyneux, later Earls of Sefton, who came to England with the Conqueror, apparently from Moulineaux near Rouen (VCH, Lancs, iii. 67, n. 7). Apart from the fact that 'de Molendino' is a possible Latinization of 'de Molyneux', there are a number of other factors that point to a possible connection to the de Molyneux family, as follows:

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1. The arms of the Milne and Molyneux families, if I may refer to them as such, are identical, except that the tinctures (colours) are reversed, as illustrated; this is a recognized form of differencing. It is possible that this is simply co-incidence, both arms being canting (or punning); moline becoming a cross moline. The cross moline is also referred to as a millrine Too much emphasis should not necessarily be placed on the similarity in the arms but it is an intriguing fact nonetheless and the Milne could have been adopted by a younger son or a descendant of a younger son of the de Molyneux family.

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Milne is the name of a number of people:

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• Robert Lyon born Robert Milne, advocate of Australian Aboriginal rights
• A. A. Milne, author of Winnie the Pooh
• Alexander Milne, entrepreneur
• Alasdair Milne, former Director-General of the BBC
• Arthur Milne, British mathematician and astrophysicist.
• Sir Alexander Milne, 1st Baronet, British admiral
• Christine Milne, Australian politician
• Christopher Robin Milne, son of A. A. Milne
• Sir David Milne, British admiral
• George Milne, 1st Baron Milne, British field marshal
• Fiona Milne, Canadian rower
• John Milne, English geologist
• Lorna Anne Milne, Canadian senator
• William Johnstone Milne was a Canadian recipient of the Victoria Cross
• Ethel Marian Milne - mother of singing legend Judy Garland

Milne related Images and Photos (experimental)

Cuttlefish (Sepia) Swimming over a Hard Coral Reef Dinah's Beach Milne Bay Papua New Guinea