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Mila

MEE-la
Slavic, Russian
"gracious; dear"
Sophie Kihm
By Sophie Kihm
Updated Thu Mar 20 2025

Mila Origin and Meaning

The name Mila is a girl's name of Russian origin meaning "gracious; dear".

Mila is a popular name that took a 125 year nap, ranking in the Top 1000 in 1881 and then not ranking again until 2006, after actress Mila Kunis appeared on That 70s Show.

Ukrainian-born Kunis was named Milena, and indeed Mila originated as a short form for names such as Ludmila, Milena, and Milica. Mila can be a nickname for any name containing the element mil, meaning "gracious" or "dear."

Mila has ranked in the Top 100 in the US for a decade now, and is firmly established as a modern classic along with popular sister Mia. Mila has also found a good measure of international popularity, ranking highly throughout the English-speaking world and in several Eastern European countries along with Germany, Switzerland, and even Chile.

It's also a versatile nickname: former President Bush's daughter Jenna named her daughter Margaret Laura, after the child's two grandmothers, called Mila.

# 28 in the US

Mila Rank in US Top 1000

# 92 on Nameberry

Mila Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Popularity of the name Mila

20 Names Similar to Mila

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Mila.

Famous People Named Mila

  • Milena Markovna "Mila" Kunis
    Ukrainian,American actress
  • Milica "Mila" Mulroney
    Bosnian,born wife of former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney
  • Mila J (born Jamila Aiko Aba Chilombo)
    American singer, rapper and dancer
  • Mila Frances Tupper Maynard
    American Unitarian minister and suffragist
  • Mila Gojsalić
    Croatian folk heroine
  • Mila Horvat
    Croatian TV presenter
  • Mila Mason
    American country music singer
  • Mila Roselena Jones (b. 2002)
    daughter of actors Alicia Coppola and Anthony Michael Jones
  • Mila Seikaly (b. 2003)
    daughter of model Elsa Benitez and basketball player Rony Seikaly
  • Mila Rose Amaia Mitchell (b. 2009)
    daughter of actor Benjamin Mitchell
  • Margaret Laura "Mila" Hager (b. 2013)
    daughter of Jenna Bush Hager; granddaughter of former President George W. Bush
  • Mila Elizabeth Kissel (b. 2016)
    daughter of country music singer Brett Kissel
  • Milena "Mila" Cohen (b. 2016)
    daughter of dancer Kristina Rihanoff and Ben Cohen

The name Mila in Pop Culture

  • Mila Valentia
    character in video game "Skyrim"
  • Mila Babicheva
    character in anime "Yuri on Ice"
  • Melania "Mila" Borejko
    character in book series "Jezycjada" by Malgorzata Musierowicz
  • Mila 18
    novel by Leon Uris
  • Mila
    main character in "Picture Me Gone" by Meg Rosoff
  • Mila
    main character in The Music of Dolphins by Karen Hesse
  • "Mila Superstar
    " anime series and its main character
  • Mila
    character on TV's "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine"
  • Mila
    character in video game "Dead or Alive 5"
  • Mila
    character in video game "Hotel Dusk: Room 215"

The name Mila in Nameberry Blog Posts