This most unusual name may be of either Anglo-Saxon or Old French origin. Firstly, the surname represents a rare survival of the Olde English pre 7th Century "mulling", darling, a term of endearment used as a byname or nickname, and gradually adopted to form a surname. The name Dearing, Deare and Deer are among those similarly generated by the Olde English "deor", dear, used as a byname meaning "beloved". Early examples of the surname from this (Olde English) source include: William Molling, recorded in the London Subsidy Rolls of 1292, and Geva Mulling, also in London in 1313. The second possible origin of the name Mowling is derived from the Anglo-Norman French "moulin, molin, mulin", mill, used as a topographical surname for someone who lived by a mill, or, in some cases, as an occupational surname for a miller. It may also be a locational surname for someone from one of the places in France called "Moline"; the first recorded bearer of the name, below, is one such. The modern surname forms are Mollin(g), Mowlin(g) and Mulling(g), and examples from London Church Registers include: the christenings of John Mowling at St. James' Garlickhithe, on March 22nd 1553, and of Susan, daughter of John Mowlinge, on July 16th 1584, at St. Andrew's, Holborn. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of John de Molyn, which was dated 1274, in the "Hundred Rolls of Essex", during the reign of King Edward 1, known as "The Hammer of the Scots", 1272 - 1307. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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