Miller
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Meaning
occupational surname, "one who grinds grain"
The story
Miller is one of the most common surnames in the English-speaking world, and its meaning could not be plainer or more essential: the miller ground the grain into flour, the person a whole village depended on to make its daily bread. It carries a bushel of talent as a surname, from the playwright Arthur Miller, who wrote Death of a Salesman, to the bandleader Glenn Miller, whose swing defined a wartime generation. As a first name it fits the modern love of sturdy occupational surnames like Mason, Cooper and Tanner. Brand new in that role, Miller has climbed fast in the United States and reads as current as it has ever been. Down-to-earth, dependable and quietly warm, Miller hands a child the name of the trade that kept a community fed, worn now as an easy, friendly first name.
How popular is Miller around the world?
In the United States, 5,170 babies were named Miller between 2020 and 2025. In New Zealand, 14 girls named Miller were registered in 2025.
Miller is on the official records of the United States, New Zealand, Scotland, Canada, South Australia, England and Wales, Chile, Brazil, Mexico City and Spain.
United States
1 in 4,200
In the United States, 5,170 babies were named Miller between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Miller peaked in the 2020s. In 2025 Miller went to 528 girls and 864 boys in the US Social Security record, one of the few names given to girls and boys in nearly equal numbers.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
New Zealand
1 in 2,100
In New Zealand, 14 girls named Miller were registered in 2025.
In New Zealand, 14 boys named Miller 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
Scotland
1 in 2,200
In Scotland, 21 boys named Miller were registered in 2024, the 199th most common name among boys 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
Canada
1 in 2,200
In Canada, 136 boys named Miller were born in 2024, the 241st most common name among boys 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)
South Australia
1 in 2,3002017
In South Australia, 6 boys were registered as Miller in 2017.
In South Australia, 2 girls were registered as Miller 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 7,100
In England and Wales, 76 boys named Miller were born in 2025, the 507th most common name among boys 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
Chile
1 in 45,000
In Chile, 4 boys were registered as Miller in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.
The count never rose above 9 in a year, too few to chart.
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
Brazil
1 in 67,000
At the 2022 census, 3,089 people in Brazil were named Miller, ranked 3,813th, with a median age of 31.
Among people named Miller 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 86 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
Mexico City City
1 in 120,000
In Mexico City, there was 1 registration of Miller in 2022.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.
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, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Spain
1 in 500,000
In Spain, 90 residents are named Miller, ranked 8,995th among men, with a mean age of 40.6 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
Argentina
last on record 2023
Miller is not on the 2024 record for Argentina, where small counts are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 6 in a year, too few to chart.
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
Montevideo City
last on record 1997
Miller is not on the 2011 record for Montevideo, whose registry withholds nothing, so the spelling was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 2 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
Not on the record in Puerto Rico, Ireland and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Austria record for 1984 to 2025: Statistik Austria publishes every first name down to a single birth, so this name was not given there in those years (before 2010 the record covers babies with Austrian citizenship only). Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Miller
Most people given the name Miller 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
The Miller deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Miller 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 Miller fits with your family’s names and surname.
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