Mila
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Meaning
“Slavic, from milŭ, gracious or dear; originally a short form of Slavic names containing that element”
The story
Mila is short in sound, but its clearest history reaches deep into Slavic language. It comes from the element milŭ, gracious or dear, and began as a short form of Slavic names built with that element. Saint Ludmila offers one such longer form and a stark historical scene. She belonged to the early Přemyslid story in Bohemia, was murdered at Tetín Castle, and had her remains transferred to Prague. A linen fragment associated with her tomb survives as an unexpectedly delicate trace of that violent passage. The saint's life does not define every Mila, nor does it prove that each bearer is named from Ludmila. It does show how the small element milŭ could travel inside longer names and leave a durable cultural memory. The name's strongest story moves from one affectionate element to a longer historical form, then from a castle to a surviving piece of cloth.
The formal names behind Mila
Mila is an established short form of each of these names.
Camila · Spanish origin · a Spanish and Portuguese spelling of Camilla, the warrior maiden in Virgil’s Aeneid; from the Roman name Camillus, probably of Etruscan origin and unknown meaning
Milagros · Spanish origin · miracles, a Marian devotional name; a warm and rare classic Spain gem
How popular is Mila around the world?
In the United States, 35,716 babies were named Mila between 2020 and 2025. In Austria, 250 girls named Mila were born in 2025, the 26th most common name among girls that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
Mila is on the official records of the United States, Austria, Scotland, New Zealand, Norway, Canada, Puerto Rico, South Australia, England and Wales, France, Ireland, Chile, New South Wales, Mexico City, Poland, Montevideo, Argentina, Spain and Brazil.
Mila crosses languages: it is in the latest top 300 of an English-speaking birth record and of a Spanish-speaking one. The full list: English and Spanish
United States
1 in 610
In the United States, 35,716 babies were named Mila between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Mila peaked in the 2020s.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Austria
1 in 300
In Austria, 250 girls named Mila were born in 2025, the 26th most common name among girls that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
share of that year’s births on record
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
Scotland
1 in 440
In Scotland, 105 girls named Mila were registered in 2024, the 30th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
New Zealand
1 in 440
In New Zealand, 131 girls named Mila were registered in 2025.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
Norway
1 in 460register 2026
In Norway, 58 girls were given the name Mila in 2025.
share of the girls on the register for that year, SSB’s own figure
People who have or have had a Norwegian ID number, emigrants left out, from Statistics Norway’s name statistics (release of January 2026): by year of birth for 1945–2020 (everyone born that year who was ever registered in Norway, including people who registered later and people who have since died) and by year of naming from 2021; only first names carried by 200 or more living people are listed, counts under 4 are withheld, and SSB merges spellings that differ only by letters outside the Norwegian alphabet. The shares are SSB’s own, of the people of that sex and year in that count; the 2025 figure counts the children named that year, and no year is a count of births. Source: Statistics Norway (SSB), table 10467 (updated 2026-01-28)
Canada
1 in 470
In Canada, 773 girls named Mila were born in 2024, the 11th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
Puerto Rico
1 in 470
In Puerto Rico, 38 babies were named Mila in 2025, and 511 have carried the name since 1998.
share of that year’s births on record
First given name only, from Social Security records of births in Puerto Rico; any name-sex-year under 5 births is withheld at source. Shares divide by the Puerto Rico Demographic Registry’s count of births on the island; the 2025 count is provisional. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, territory name file (Puerto Rico)
South Australia
1 in 5002017
In South Australia, 37 girls were registered as Mila in 2017.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
England and Wales
1 in 580
In England and Wales, 1,014 girls named Mila were born in 2025, the 40th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
France
1 in 790
In France, about 815 girls named Mila were born in 2025, the 54th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)
Ireland
1 in 890
In Ireland, 61 girls named Mila were born in 2025, the 80th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. This registry counts each spelling separately; the figures above are for the exact spelling Mila, and accented spellings are separate names. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
Chile
1 in 1,000
In Chile, 176 girls were registered as Mila in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.
share of that year’s name registrations
First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021
New South Wales
#21 · 2025
In New South Wales, 195 girls named Mila were registered in 2025, ranked 21st in that year’s top 100 for girls.
share of that year’s top-100 registrations
New South Wales (not all of Australia) publishes only each year’s 100 most popular names per sex, so a missing year means below that top 100, not rare. Source: NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, popular baby names
Mexico City City
1 in 1,500
In Mexico City, there were 79 registrations of Mila in 2022.
share of that year’s registrations in the city
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023 (5 registrations through 3 Mar) is excluded as partial. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Poland
1 in 2,500
In Poland, 97 girls named Mila were born in 2025, the 117th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)
Montevideo City
1 in 6,2002011
In Montevideo, 4 girls named Mila were born in 2011, spelling variants counted together.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
Argentina
1 in 8,200
In Argentina, 81 newborns were given the name Mila in 2024.
share of that year’s name registrations
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Spain
1 in 35,000
In Spain, 1,295 residents are named Mila, ranked 1,256th among women, with a mean age of 15.6 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
Brazil
1 in 43,000
At the 2022 census, 4,718 people in Brazil were named Mila, ranked 2,855th, with a median age of 23.
Among people named Mila living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1990s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
The census also counted 331 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
When you meet Mila
Most people given the name Mila in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
Names like Mila · Names that go with Mila · Middle names for Mila · Global crossover names · Short names · What is Mila short for?
The Mila deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Mila truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Mila fits with your family’s names and surname.
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