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Mila

MEE-la
Slavic, Russian
"gracious; dear"
Linda Rosenkrantz
By Linda Rosenkrantz
Updated Mon Apr 22 2024

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.

# 19 in the US

Mila Rank in US Top 1000

# 115 on Nameberry

Mila Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Mila Popularity

Famous People Named Mila

  • Milena Markovna "Mila" KunisUkrainian,American actress
  • Milica "Mila" MulroneyBosnian,born wife of former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney
  • Mila J (born Jamila Aiko Aba Chilombo)American singer, rapper and dancer
  • Mila Frances Tupper MaynardAmerican Unitarian minister and suffragist
  • Mila GojsalićCroatian folk heroine
  • Mila HorvatCroatian TV presenter
  • Mila MasonAmerican 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

Mila in Pop Culture

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

Mila in Nameberry Blog Posts