Mila
A Slavic name meaning "gracious" or "dear". It was barely used in Poland before the 2010s, so it belongs almost entirely to young girls: around 2,600 carry it, and most Poles have never met one.
Mila Pronunciation
Mila is pronounced MEE-lah (/ˈmila/).
What Mila means
Where Mila comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Mila grows from a Slavic root, the old mil that stands behind Polish miła and droga, words for someone dear and gladly kept close. The name states an affection rather than a lineage or a saint.
The doubled form Milla turns up on official records too, one L or two depending on the clerk and the country. Cognates sit all around it: Czech milý, meaning kind or nice, and the miło- that opens older Slavic names like Miłosław. A child called Mila carries a fragment of those longer names, the tender half left standing on its own.
On a school register the name is brief. It fits a name tag. The meaning gracious was never a claim about anyone's character; it grew from the root for dear, and a reader hears the warmth because the Slavic word for it is right there.
Mila means dear, and Milla is the same name wearing a second L.
How many people are named Mila
1 in 8751 women in Poland is named Mila. 2,576 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #625 among female names.
Mila's popularity over time
97 girls were given the name in 2025, ranking #251 among newborns. It has been climbing since 2002.
Where parents choose Mila
Mila is most popular in Lubusz, 75% above the national average (32 girls born 2019–2025), followed by Lower Silesian (+54%) and Masovian (+53%). It is least common in Lublin and Kuyavian-Pomeranian, 47% and 40% below average respectively.
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Lubusz
+75%1 in 1,552 babies
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Lower Silesian
+54%1 in 1,766 babies
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Masovian
+53%1 in 1,780 babies
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Lublin
−47%1 in 5,134 babies
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Kuyavian-Pomeranian
−40%1 in 4,557 babies
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Podlaskie
−38%1 in 4,386 babies
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Lubusz+75% 32 born1 in 1,552 babies+75%
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Lower Silesian+54% 89 born1 in 1,766 babies+54%
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Masovian+53% 199 born1 in 1,780 babies+53%
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Lesser Poland+15% 96 born1 in 2,364 babies+15%
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West Pomeranian+13% 35 born1 in 2,412 babies+13%
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Silesian−9% 76 born1 in 2,995 babies−9%
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Opole−11% 15 born1 in 3,073 babies−11%
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Pomeranian−17% 45 born1 in 3,274 babies−17%
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Holy Cross−26% 15 born1 in 3,696 babies−26%
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Greater Poland−30% 55 born1 in 3,914 babies−30%
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Łódź−31% 32 born1 in 3,960 babies−31%
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Subcarpathian−35% 29 born1 in 4,157 babies−35%
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Warmian-Masurian−36% 17 born1 in 4,223 babies−36%
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Podlaskie−38% 15 born1 in 4,386 babies−38%
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Kuyavian-Pomeranian−40% 24 born1 in 4,557 babies−40%
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Lublin−47% 20 born1 in 5,134 babies−47%
Mila as a middle name
Mila is a first name for 2,576 women in Poland and a middle name for another 206, a 93/7 split. In the women's middle-name ranking it sits 467th, between Ksawera (206) and Theresa (206).
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#465 Melisa210
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#466 Ksawera206
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#467 Mila206
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#468 Theresa206
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#469 Inka204