Milan

MI-lan; MEE-lan; MEE-lahn

Italian place name, Slavic, Sanskrit

"middle of the plain; gracious, dear; union"

By Sophie Kihm

Updated Wed Jan 22 2025

Show me Milan as a girl's name →

Milan Origin and Meaning

The name Milan is a boy's name of Slavic origin meaning "middle of the plain; gracious, dear; union".

Effortlessly stylish with an international feel, Milan re-entered the US charts back in 2013 after a 55 year hiatus. It has been powering up the charts ever since, following in the footsteps of sweet sound-alike Mila, and spotlighted by singer Shakira, who chose it for her son.

A fast rising choice of 2023, Milan comes from the Slavic element milŭ meaning "gracious, dear", however, as an Italian place name, it is more likely from the Latin Mediolanum, meaning "middle of the plain". It could also be connected to the Sanskrit milana meaning "union", which might explain its usage in India.

Milan has been a Top 10 name for boys in The Netherlands and Hungary, as well as making the Top 20 in Belgium. A famous literary namesake is Czech writer Milan Kundera, author of The Unbearable Lightness of Being. In America, it is a solidly unisex name whose usage is no doubt also inspired by the stylish Italian city of the same name.

Given to around 1500 boys in a recent year compared to 450 girls, for every one girl called Milan, there are three boys.

Milan is a name with plenty of variations and diminutives including Milen, Miko, Miłosz, Milenko, Milano, and Mylan.

# 230 in the US

Milan Rank in US Top 1000

# 643 on Nameberry

Milan Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Milan Popularity

230US2023
643Nameberry2025
32Unisex2023
88Canada2023
65Future2035
220England2023
96France2022
21Germany2024
14Netherlands2024
67Belgium2023
105Switzerland2023
47Poland2023
88Chile2021

20 Names Similar to Milan

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

Famous People Named Milan

Milan Begovic
Croatian writer
Milan I
King of Serbia
Milan Babuska
Czech architect
Milan Baros
Czech football (soccer) player
Milan Bezdek
Czech Roman Catholic priest, prelate of His Holiness
Milan Boksa
Czech soccer coach, methodologies and official
Milan Cimfe
Czech bass guitar player
Milan Creighton
former American football coach
Milan Drobny
Czech singer
Milan Dufek
Czech singer
Milan Elleder
Czech physician and professor of pathology

Milan Fryda
Czech football (soccer) player
Milan Fukal
Czech football (soccer) player
Milan Harvalik
Czech linguist
Milan Hejduk
Czech ice hockey player
Milan Hlavsa
Czech bass guitar player
Milan Hodza
Slovak politician, Prime minister of Czechoslovakia
Milan Chalupa
Czech ice hockey player
Milan Chladil
Czech singer
Milan Ivana
Slovak football (soccer) player
Milan Jovanovic
Serbian football (soccer) player

Milan Kangrga
Croatian philosopher
Milan Knazko
Slovak actor and politician
Milan Knizak
Czech politician and artist
Milan Komar
Slovene philosopher
Milan Kucan
Slovene politician, President of Slovenia
Milan Kundera
Czech writer (The Unbearable Lightness of Being)
Milan Lasica
Slovak actor and writer
Milan Lucic
Canadian (born Serbian) NHL hockey player
Milan Luhovy
Czech football (soccer) player
Milan Macala
Czech soccer coach

Milan Machovec
Czech philosopher
Milan Markovic
Slovak humorist, actor and presenter
Milan Michalek
Czech ice hockey player
Milan Mladenovic
Serbian musician
Milan Munclinger
Czech musician
Milan Nakonecny
Czech psychologist
Milan Obrenovic II
Prince of Serbia
Milan Orlowski
Czech table tennis player
Milan Peroutka
Czech singer
Milan Pirocanac
Serbian politician and lawyer

Milan Pavlovic
retired Serbian footballer
Milan Pavlovic
Bosnian actor
Milan Rastislav Stefanik
Slovak politician, general and astronomer
Milan Resetar
Croatian linguist and historian
Milan Spalek
Czech bass guitar player
Milan Srejber
Czech tennis player
Milan Stankovic
Serbian singer
Milan Steindler
Czech actor and director
Milan Stojadinovic
Serbian politician, lawyer and economist
Milan Sufflay
Croatian historian and politician

Milan Uhde
Czech writer, playwright and politician
Milan Uzelac
Serbian poet and essayist
Milan Vukmirovic
Serbian,French fashion photographer, stylist and designer; co,founder of the famous French store Colette
Milan Rushdie (b. 1997)
son of novelist Salman Rushdie
Milan Pique Mebarak (2013)
son of singer Shakira & footballer Gerard Pique

Milan in Pop Culture

Milan
Italy (Population: 1.3 million)
Milan Hendrickx
character on TV's 'WTFock'