Milen
A Bulgarian masculine name derived from the Slavic root meaning "darling" or "beloved".
Name Census estimates that about 131 living Americans carry the first name Milen. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 82.4% of registrations being male. The average person named Milen today is around 13 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Milen births was 2018 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Milen. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Milen with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
131
~ 1 in 2,616,445 Americans
Peak year
2018
13 babies that year
Average age
13
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,718
Tracked since 1923
Census
Milen in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 495 people with the first name Milen, which placed it at #20,757 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
#20,757
National first-name rank
People counted
495
495 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
50.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Milen
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Milen is White at 50.7%. The next largest groups are Black (19.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (13.1%). 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 Milen 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 Milen at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White50.7% · 251
- Black or African American19.6% · 97
- Asian and Pacific Islander13.1% · 65
- Hispanic or Latino10.7% · 53
- Two or more races4.2% · 21
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.6% · 8
Gender
Gender distribution for Milen
Milen leans heavily male at 82.4% of total registrations, but 25 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Milen as a male name
- Ranked #8,718 in 2024
- 9 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2015 (9 births)
Milen as a female name
- Ranked #17,360 in 2018
- 5 female births in 2018
- Peak: 2007 (5 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Milen on both sides of the split. Of the 495 people counted with this name, 328 were male (66.3%) and 167 were female (33.7%).
Popularity
Milen: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Milen from the 1920s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 73 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Milen 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 Milen during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Milen
The given name Milen has its origins in the Slavic cultures of Eastern Europe, with roots dating back to the early medieval period. It is believed to be derived from the Proto-Slavic word "milъ," which means "beloved" or "dear." This name was particularly popular among the South Slavic peoples, such as the Bulgarians and Serbs.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Milen can be found in the Rila Monastery, a renowned Bulgarian Orthodox monastery established in the 10th century. The name is mentioned in several monastic chronicles and documents, suggesting its widespread use among the Orthodox Christian population of the region.
During the Middle Ages, the name Milen gained popularity across the Balkan regions, particularly in what is now modern-day Bulgaria and Serbia. It was often associated with noble families and aristocratic lineages, as evidenced by various historical records and genealogical documents from the time.
One notable figure bearing the name Milen was Milen Rajevski, a prominent Bulgarian military leader who played a crucial role in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878. Rajevski was born in 1839 and became a celebrated hero for his contributions to the liberation of Bulgaria from Ottoman rule.
Another historical figure worthy of mention is Milen Petrov, a Bulgarian revolutionary and activist who fought for national independence in the late 19th century. Petrov was born in 1845 and became a prominent figure in the April Uprising against the Ottoman Empire in 1876.
In the realm of literature, the Bulgarian writer Milen Roussev (1866-1941) gained recognition for his works depicting the struggles of the Bulgarian people during the Ottoman period and the early years of independence.
Milen Ivanov (1900-1973) was a renowned Bulgarian composer and conductor who made significant contributions to the development of Bulgarian classical music in the 20th century. His compositions, including orchestral works and operas, have become integral parts of the country's cultural heritage.
Another notable figure was Milen Tsvetkov (1966-2015), a Bulgarian actor and director who gained popularity for his performances in numerous television series and films, both nationally and internationally.
While the name Milen has its roots in the Slavic cultures of Eastern Europe, it has also gained recognition and usage in other parts of the world, particularly among immigrant communities and those with Slavic heritage. However, its historical significance and cultural associations remain firmly rooted in the regions of the Balkans and Eastern Europe.
People
Milen + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Milen 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
Milen: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Milen?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 131 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Milen 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 2,616,445 US residents.
Is Milen a common name?
We classify Milen as "Very Rare". It ranks above 68.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 142 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Milen most popular?
The single biggest year for Milen was 2018, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Milen is about 13 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Milen in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 495 people with the name Milen, or 0.16 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #20,757 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 Milen 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 Milen?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Milen on both sides of the split. Of the 495 people counted with this name, 328 were male (66.3%) and 167 were female (33.7%). 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 Milen?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Milen is White at 50.7%. The next largest groups are Black (19.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (13.1%). 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 Milen most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Milen in the 2020 Census, accounting for 50.7% (251 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 Milen in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Milen a male name?
Yes, 82.4% of people registered as Milen 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.
Is Milen still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Milen 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 Milen 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 are called Milen?
You can see how many people share the name Milen on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.