Mola

Spellings & scripts●

Locally spelled Mala in NP Nepal, NG Nigeria, GB United Kingdom and 3 more, Marlee in US United States, AU Australia, CA Canada, Mal in IN India, PK Pakistan and Malla in BR Brazil, EC Ecuador.

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records; ○ marks a model's transliteration. Click a spelling to open its page.

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 6 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Mola is also recorded as 6 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Spanish surname12K records spelled Mola83 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Spain, United States, Mexico, South Africa

  Languages: Spanish, English, Swahili

  Also written Muela, Moela, Mulae, Molae, มูหละ

• Hindi surname12K records spelled Mola3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in India, Pakistan, United States, South Africa

  Languages: Hindi, Urdu

  Also written Mölä

• a separate surname6.9K records spelled Mola3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in India, Ethiopia, United States, Pakistan

  Also written Molā, Molà

• Bangla surname1.9K records spelled Mola20 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in India, Türkiye, Bangladesh, United States

  Also written Mol, Moola, Mole, Male, মোল

• Hindi surname1.8K records spelled Mola162 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in India, Bangladesh, United States, Malaysia

  Languages: Hindi, Bangla, English

  Also written Molla, Malla, মোল্লা, Malli, মোল্যা

• Portuguese surname1.8K records spelled Mola4 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Brazil, United States, Philippines, Spain

  Also written Molá, ́mola, Molà

43 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Mola is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In Italian, habitational name from any of numerous minor places named with Latin mola ‘mill’, ‘millstone’.

  as a name·Dictionary of American Family Names

• In Swahili, alternative letter-case form of Mola

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In English, A sunfish, Mola mola.

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In Turkish, rest, break, pause

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In Italian, do lat. mola; refere-se ao artesão ligado a mós ou ao hab. de cidade chamada Mola

  as a name·Dicionário dos sobrenomes italianos

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

IN naampy — India given names from state electoral rolls (in-rolls) — 90 years between 1917–2015. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Gaspare Molab. 1571ITItalian artist (1571-1640)
• Pier Francesco Molab. 1612CHSwiss painter (1612-1666)
• Emilio Molab. 1887ESSpanish military commander (1887-1937)
• Norberto Molab. 1902ITItalian conductor (1902–1973)
• Tina De Molab. 1923ITItalian actress (1923-2012)
• Aldo Alessandro Molab. 1943ITItalian writer
• María Teresa Mola Sainzb. 1953ESSpanish politician
• Ugo Molab. 1973FRFrench rugby union player and coach
• Ezgi Molab. 1983TRTurkish actor (born 1983)
• Mario Molab. 1990ESSpanish triathlete

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 227 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Mola?

We estimate roughly 1.8 million people bear Mola (counting its spellings and scripts) across 13 countries in our records.

In which country does Mola have the most bearers?

We estimate about 1.5 million people bear Mola in Brazil, more than in any other country in our records, where it is most often spelled malla.

Where is Mola most common?

Mola is densest in Brazil, where the national register counts about 1 in 139 people carrying it.

How common is Mola compared with other names?

In India, Mola is the 135th most common surname of 2,352,292 surnames recorded there.

What does the name Mola mean?

Recorded meaning: habitational name from any of various places named Mola in Catalonia and Aragon, in particular the one in Teruel province (Aragon), from Latin mola ‘mill’, ‘millstone’.