2000
#5,960
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,318
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.97
Rare Last name
Milan
A habitational surname referring to someone from the city of Milan, Italy.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,713 Americans carry the last name Milan. That puts it at #5,707 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.96 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 51,058 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Milan surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Milan with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
6.7K
1 in 51,058
Census rank
#5,707
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,854 bearers of the surname Milan in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.96 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5707th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Milan, the largest self-reported group is White at 39.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (34.2%) and Black (16.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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).
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Milan
Among Census respondents with the surname Milan, the largest self-reported group is White at 39.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (34.2%) and Black (16.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Milan bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Milan surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White39.5% · 2,311
- Hispanic or Latino34.2% · 2,003
- Black or African American16.1% · 943
- Asian and Pacific Islander6.9% · 404
- Two or more races2.8% · 165
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 28
Timeline
Historical Census data for Milan
Milan appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#5,543
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,268
+950 bearers (+17.9%)
Per 100,000 2.12
Rank movement Up 417 places
2020
#5,707
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,854
-414 bearers (-6.6%)
Per 100,000 1.96
Rank movement Down 164 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,960 | 5,318 | 1.97 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,543 | 6,268 | 2.12 | +950 bearers (+17.9%) | Up 417 places |
| 2020 | #5,707 | 5,854 | 1.96 | -414 bearers (-6.6%) | Down 164 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Milan surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #5,543 | #5,707 | -3.0% |
| Count | 6,268 | 5,854 | -6.6% |
| Per 100K | 2.12 | 1.96 | -7.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Milan bearers went from 6,268 to 5,854 (-6.6% change). The surname moved down 164 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,543 to #5,707.
FAQ
Milan surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Milan?
Name Census estimates that about 6,713 living Americans carry the surname Milan. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 51,058 residents.
How common is Milan?
Milan ranks #5,707 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.96 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,854 people with the surname Milan. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,713), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.96 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.96 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Milan.
Has Milan become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Milan went from 6,268 recorded bearers to 5,854. That is a decrease of 414 (-6.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,543 to #5,707.
What does the Census say about the background of Milan?
Among Census respondents with the surname Milan, the largest self-reported group is White at 39.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (34.2%) and Black (16.1%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Milan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 39.5% (2,311 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Milan appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (39.5%), Hispanic (34.2%), Black (16.1%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Milan (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Milan mean?
A habitational surname referring to someone from the city of Milan, Italy. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Milan (1.96 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How common is the surname Milan?
If you just want to know how many people have the last name Milan, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.