Milan last name popularity, history, and meaning

Find out how popular the last name Milan is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Milan.

Meaning of Milan

A habitational surname referring to someone from the city of Milan, Italy.

Milan, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Milan surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Milan in America

Milan is the 5543rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Milan surname appeared 6,268 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Milan.

We can also compare 2010 data for Milan to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

20102000Change (%)
Rank55435960-7.25%
Count6,2685,31816.40%
Proportion per 100k2.121.977.33%

The history of the last name Milan

The surname MILAN is of Italian origin, originating from the city of Milan in the Lombardy region of northern Italy. This name derives from the Latin name Mediolanum, which means "in the middle of the plain."

The earliest recorded instances of the name date back to the Middle Ages. The Milanese family was a prominent noble family in the region during this time. One notable member was Matteo Visconti (1250-1322), who became the Lord of Milan in 1287.

The name is also found in medieval records from other parts of Europe, such as the Domesday Book of England from 1086. This suggests that individuals with the surname may have migrated from Italy to other regions during this period.

In the 14th century, a branch of the MILAN family settled in the town of Volterra in the Tuscany region of Italy. One member, Francesco MILAN (1310-1378), was a renowned painter and architect who worked on the construction of the Palazzo dei Priori in Volterra.

Another notable figure with the surname was Giovanni MILAN (1560-1623), an Italian composer and lutenist who served at the court of the Medici family in Florence during the Renaissance.

In the 18th century, a MILAN family emigrated from Italy to Spain, where they became influential in the wine trade. One member, Antonio MILAN (1745-1819), established a successful winery in the Rioja region.

During the 19th century, several individuals with the surname MILAN made significant contributions in various fields. These include the French mathematician Gaspard MILAN (1805-1872), who studied the theory of differential equations, and the Italian artist Giuseppe MILAN (1823-1901), known for his landscape paintings.

The surname MILAN has also been associated with notable figures in more recent history, such as the Italian novelist and playwright Gian Dario MILAN (1920-2003) and the Spanish football player and manager Fabio MILAN (born 1971).

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Milan

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Milan.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

  1. White only
  2. Black only
  3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
  4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
  5. Hispanic
  6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Milan was:

Race/EthnicityPercentageTotal Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only44.70%2,802
Non-Hispanic Black Only15.44%968
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only6.24%391
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native0.43%27
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races1.82%114
Hispanic Origin31.37%1,966

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Milan has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

20102000Change (%)
White44.70%51.37%-13.89%
Black15.44%15.08%2.36%
Asian and Pacific Islander6.24%5.15%19.14%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0.43%0.23%60.61%
Two or More Races1.82%1.60%12.87%
Hispanic31.37%26.57%16.57%

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Milan was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Milan, please contact us.

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