Milburn
A masculine given name of Old English origin meaning "mill stream/brook".
Name Census estimates that about 543 living Americans carry the first name Milburn. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Milburn today is around 75 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Milburn births was 1918 (79 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Milburn. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Milburn is about 75 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Milburns were born before 1961.
People living today
543
~ 1 in 631,223 Americans
Peak year
1918
79 babies that year
Average age
75
years old
1985 SSA rank
#7,237
Tracked since 1884
Popularity
Milburn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Milburn from the 1880s through to the 1980s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 590 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Milburn by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Milburn during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Milburns live
The SSA's state-level files cover 12 states and territories. Texas, Tennessee, Kentucky recorded the most babies named Milburn, while North Carolina, Maryland, Louisiana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 57 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Milburn
Milburn is a given name of English origin, derived from the Old English words "mylen" meaning "mill" and "burna" meaning "stream" or "brook." This suggests that the name may have originated from a location near a mill situated on a stream. The name dates back to the Anglo-Saxon period in England, around the 5th to 11th centuries AD.
The earliest recorded instance of the name Milburn can be traced back to the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The name appeared as a place name, indicating the existence of settlements or villages bearing the name Milburn during that time.
One of the earliest individuals with the given name Milburn was Milburn Hester, an English clergyman born in 1682. He served as the rector of Bircham Newton in Norfolk, England, and was known for his religious writings and sermons.
In the 19th century, Milburn Heister (1830-1903) was a prominent American politician and lawyer from Pennsylvania. He served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1869 to 1871.
Another notable figure with the name Milburn was Sir Milburn Culpin (1891-1970), a British psychiatrist and psychoanalyst. He was a pioneer in the field of mental health and played a significant role in the development of psychoanalytic theory and practice in the United Kingdom.
Milburn G. Heister (1900-1992) was an American businessman and philanthropist from Pennsylvania. He made significant contributions to various educational and charitable organizations throughout his lifetime.
Lastly, Milburn Priestly (1924-1984) was a British actor and playwright. He gained recognition for his roles in television series such as "The Avengers" and "The Persuaders!" and also wrote several successful plays during his career.
While the name Milburn has its roots in Old English, it has been used across different regions and cultures over the centuries, reflecting the diverse and rich history associated with this given name.
People
Milburn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Milburn as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with M
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Milburn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Milburn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 543 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Milburn going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 631,223 US residents.
Is Milburn a common name?
We classify Milburn as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,234 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Milburn most popular?
The single biggest year for Milburn was 1918, when 79 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Milburn is about 75 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Milburn a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Milburn in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.