Milica
A female name of Serbian origin meaning "gracious" or "grace".
Name Census estimates that about 389 living Americans carry the first name Milica. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Milica today is around 23 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Milica births was 2011 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Milica. 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
389
~ 1 in 881,117 Americans
Peak year
2011
17 babies that year
Average age
23
years old
2024 SSA rank
#14,650
Tracked since 1956
Popularity
Milica: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Milica from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 120 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Milica remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Milica 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 Milica during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Milicas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Milica
The name Milica is of Slavic origin, derived from the Slavic root "mil" meaning "gracious" or "dear". It is believed to have originated in the Balkans during the Middle Ages, specifically in Serbia and neighboring regions.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Milica can be found in the 14th century Serbian epic poem "Tsarvena Milica". This poem tells the story of Princess Milica, the wife of Serbian Prince Lazar, who played a significant role in the Battle of Kosovo against the Ottoman Empire in 1389.
Another notable historical figure bearing the name Milica was Milica Hrebeljanović (1335-1405), a Serbian princess and the daughter of Prince Vratko Hrebeljanović. She was married to Prince Lazar and served as a regent during her son's reign, playing a crucial role in the political and cultural affairs of medieval Serbia.
In the realm of literature, Milica Stojadinović Serbian (1830-1878) was a prominent Serbian writer and one of the first female authors in modern Serbian literature. Her works, such as "Pevanija" and "Književni radovi", explored themes of love, patriotism, and the struggles of Serbian women.
Moving to the 20th century, Milica Bakić-Hayden (1923-2003) was a renowned Serbian anthropologist and scholar. She made significant contributions to the study of gender, kinship, and rural communities in the Balkans, authoring numerous influential works, including "Norms and Lived Experience" and "Working in the Field".
Another notable figure is Milica Tomić (1859-1944), a Serbian painter and one of the first professional female artists in Serbia. Her work, primarily focused on portraiture and genre scenes, played a pivotal role in the development of Serbian art in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
These examples illustrate the historical and cultural significance of the name Milica, which has been borne by notable figures in various fields, from literature and art to politics and academia. The name has a rich heritage rooted in the Slavic traditions of the Balkans and continues to be a popular choice in various Slavic cultures today.
People
Milica + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Milica 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
Milica: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Milica?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 389 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Milica 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 881,117 US residents.
Is Milica a common name?
We classify Milica as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 401 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Milica most popular?
The single biggest year for Milica was 2011, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Milica is about 23 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Milica a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Milica 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.
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.