Mulder is a Dutch language toponymic surname. It is an archaic Dutch word for "miller", derived from the Old Germanic "Mulinari". With 38,207 people in the Netherlands named Mulder, it was the 12th most common name there in 2007. In Belgium the form De Mulder is more common. The surname Mulder is also an occupational name of German origin, meaning "the maker of wooden bowls", from Middle High German mulde "bowl", "trough", or "tub" + the agent suffix -er. However, the majority of people with this last name are of the Dutch name origin. This is due in part because milling was an integral part of Dutch traditional rural life.
