Milee
A feminine name of French origin meaning "gracious" or "soldier".
Name Census estimates that about 451 living Americans carry the first name Milee. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Milee today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Milee births was 2008 (89 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Milee. 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.
People living today
451
~ 1 in 759,987 Americans
Peak year
2008
89 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2024 SSA rank
#14,649
Tracked since 1993
Census
Milee in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 506 people with the first name Milee, which placed it at #20,423 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#20,423
National first-name rank
People counted
506
506 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
60.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Milee
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Milee is White at 60.7%. The next largest groups are Black (10.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (10.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Milee described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Milee at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White60.7% · 307
- Black or African American10.7% · 54
- Asian and Pacific Islander10.3% · 52
- Hispanic or Latino9.9% · 50
- Two or more races6.5% · 33
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.0% · 10
Popularity
Milee: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Milee from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 217 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Milee 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 Milee during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Milees live
The SSA's state-level files cover 8 states and territories. California, Texas, Ohio recorded the most babies named Milee, while Pennsylvania, Utah, Missouri recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 9 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Milee
The name Milee has its origins in the Sanskrit language, spoken in ancient India. It is believed to have emerged during the Vedic period, which spanned from approximately 1500 BCE to 500 BCE. The name is derived from the Sanskrit word "mila," which means "meeting" or "union."
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Milee can be found in the ancient Hindu text, the Mahabharata. In this epic, Milee is mentioned as the name of a character, though little is known about their significance or role in the narrative.
Throughout history, the name Milee has been borne by several notable individuals. One such figure was Milee Dutt, a renowned Indian poet and literary critic who lived during the 19th century (1825-1873). Her works were instrumental in shaping the literary landscape of Bengal during that era.
Another prominent individual with the name Milee was Milee Ashwarya, an Indian classical dancer and choreographer who gained widespread acclaim for her contributions to the art of Bharatanatyam (1932-2018). Her performances and teachings helped preserve and promote this ancient dance form.
In the field of science, Milee Basu (1909-1986) was a pioneering Indian biochemist known for her groundbreaking research on plant proteins and enzymes. Her work paved the way for advancements in the understanding of plant biochemistry.
Moving to the realm of politics, Milee Chakrabarti (1923-2001) was an influential Indian politician and social activist. She played a crucial role in the Indian independence movement and later served as a member of parliament, advocating for women's rights and social justice.
Lastly, Milee Shankar (born 1957) is a contemporary Indian classical vocalist and musician. She is renowned for her mastery of the Khyal style of Hindustani classical music and has received numerous accolades for her performances and contributions to the art form.
These are just a few examples of individuals who have borne the name Milee throughout history, hailing from diverse fields and leaving their mark on various aspects of human endeavor.
People
Milee + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Milee 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
Milee: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Milee?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 451 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Milee 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 759,987 US residents.
Is Milee a common name?
We classify Milee as "Very Rare". It ranks above 83.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 456 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Milee most popular?
The single biggest year for Milee was 2008, when 89 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Milee is about 15 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Milee in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 506 people with the name Milee, or 0.17 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #20,423 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Milee in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Milee?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Milee appears almost entirely female. Of the 502 people counted with this name, 99.0% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Milee?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Milee is White at 60.7%. The next largest groups are Black (10.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (10.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Milee most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Milee in the 2020 Census, accounting for 60.7% (307 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Milee in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Milee a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Milee in the SSA data are female. 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.
Is Milee still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Milee in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Milee can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
How many people share the name Milee?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.