Mila

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Girl · Old Slavic

Mila

Say it: MEE-lah

Try it with your surname

Meaning

Short form of names containing mil 'dear, gracious', such as Ludmila or Milena; also used independently.

Likelythe main view, with some doubt.

Long a pet form across the Slavic world, it became an independent and fashionable given name in the 21st century.

Its wave through time

Rising now

In the United States

55,421 babies given this name since 1881
At its height in 2018, about 1 in 208 girls
6,612 babies in 2020

Through the ages

Used by

Russian Serbian Croatian Bulgarian Polish Czech

The family of the name

Other spellings: Мила

Polish	Mila
Czech	Míla
English	Mila

Famous bearers

Mila Kunis, Ukrainian-born American actress

Names worth a look

OlgaGirlFrom Old Norse Helga, from heilagr 'holy, sacred', brought by the Varangian rulers of Kievan Rus.Early Medieval · peak 1897

AnastasiaGirlGreek anastasis, 'resurrection'.Early Medieval · peak 2019

NataliaGirlFrom natalis 'of birth, birthday', especially dies natalis Domini 'Christmas Day'.Rome · peak 2020

MarinaGirlFrom the Roman name Marinus, probably a derivative of the family name Marius; it was early associated with Latin…Rome · peak 1994

HelenaGirlGreek Helenē, of uncertain origin; a link to words for 'torch' or 'light' is often claimed but unproven.Greece · peak 1899

TatianaGirlFrom the Roman family name Tatius, borne by the Sabine king Titus Tatius; the meaning of Tatius itself is unknown.Rome · peak 1999

MelissaGirlFrom Greek melissa 'honeybee'.Greece · peak 1979

MildredGirlFrom Old English Mildthryth, from mild 'gentle' and thryth 'strength'.Viking & Saxon · peak 1909

Where this comes from

National birth statistics of European countries source
United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source

Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.

Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.