AARON MILLER

Biblical name, borne by the brother of Moses, who was appointed by God to be Moses' spokesman and became the first High Priest of the Israelites (Exodus 4:14–16, 7:1–2). It is of uncertain origin and meaning: most probably, like Moses, of Egyptian rather than Hebrew origin. The traditional derivation from Hebrew har-on ‘mountain of strength’ is no more than a folk etymology. The name has been in regular use from time immemorial as a Jewish name and was taken up by the Nonconformists as a Christian name in the 16th century. Since the late 1990s it has been widely popular.

English and Scottish: occupational name for a miller. The standard modern vocabulary word represents the northern Middle English term, an agent derivative of mille ‘mill’, reinforced by Old Norse mylnari (see Milner). In southern, western, and central England Millward (literally, ‘mill keeper’) was the usual term. The American surname has absorbed many cognate surnames from other European languages, for example French Meunier, Dumoulin, Demoulins, and Moulin; German Mueller; Dutch Molenaar; Italian Molinaro; Spanish Molinero; Hungarian Molnár; Slavic Mlinar, etc.