2000
#4,677
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,930
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.57
Rare Last name
Miley
An Irish surname derived from the Gaelic "Ó Maoilmhichíl," meaning "descendant of the devotee of St. Michael."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 7,715 Americans carry the last name Miley. That puts it at #5,054 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.25 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 44,427 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Miley 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 Miley with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
7.7K
1 in 44,427
Census rank
#5,054
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,728 bearers of the surname Miley in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.25 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5054th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Miley, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.1%. The next largest groups are Black (13.5%) and Two or More Races (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Miley
The surname Miley originates from England and is thought to have derived from the Old English words "mil" meaning "mile" and "leah" meaning "a clearing in a forest or wood". It is believed to have initially referred to someone who lived near a mile marker or a mile from a particular location.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Miley can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which mentions a landowner named Mileleah in Berkshire. The name appeared in various forms, such as Mileley, Milelaie, and Mylaie, in medieval records across different counties in England.
In the 13th century, a notable individual named John Miley was recorded as a landowner in the village of Farnham, Surrey. Another early bearer of the name was William Myley, who was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1275.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Miley surname was found in various parts of England, particularly in counties like Yorkshire, Lancashire, and Cheshire. One prominent figure from this period was Robert Miley, a wealthy merchant from London who lived between 1580 and 1647.
In the 18th century, the Miley family had a presence in the county of Staffordshire, where a branch of the family owned a significant estate. A notable member of this family was Sir Thomas Miley (1710-1789), a landowner and magistrate who played an active role in local affairs.
Another individual of note was Elizabeth Miley (1766-1854), a renowned author and poet from Yorkshire, whose works were widely acclaimed during her lifetime.
As the Miley family dispersed across different regions of England over the centuries, variations in the spelling of the name emerged, including Myley, Mylie, Mileigh, and Milie. However, the core meaning and origins of the surname remained rooted in its Old English etymology.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Miley
Among Census respondents with the surname Miley, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.1%. The next largest groups are Black (13.5%) and Two or More Races (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Miley 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 Miley surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White79.1% · 5,319
- Black or African American13.5% · 911
- Two or more races3.4% · 227
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 213
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 29
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 29
Timeline
Historical Census data for Miley
Miley 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
#4,797
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,365
+435 bearers (+6.3%)
Per 100,000 2.50
Rank movement Down 120 places
2020
#5,054
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,728
-637 bearers (-8.6%)
Per 100,000 2.25
Rank movement Down 257 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,677 | 6,930 | 2.57 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,797 | 7,365 | 2.50 | +435 bearers (+6.3%) | Down 120 places |
| 2020 | #5,054 | 6,728 | 2.25 | -637 bearers (-8.6%) | Down 257 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 Miley 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 | #4,797 | #5,054 | -5.4% |
| Count | 7,365 | 6,728 | -8.6% |
| Per 100K | 2.50 | 2.25 | -10.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Miley bearers went from 7,365 to 6,728 (-8.6% change). The surname moved down 257 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,797 to #5,054.
FAQ
Miley surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Miley?
Name Census estimates that about 7,715 living Americans carry the surname Miley. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 44,427 residents.
How common is Miley?
Miley ranks #5,054 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.25 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 6,728 people with the surname Miley. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (7,715), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.25 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.25 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 Miley.
Has Miley become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Miley went from 7,365 recorded bearers to 6,728. That is a decrease of 637 (-8.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,797 to #5,054.
What does the Census say about the background of Miley?
Among Census respondents with the surname Miley, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.1%. The next largest groups are Black (13.5%) and Two or More Races (3.4%). 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 Miley in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.1% (5,319 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Miley appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (79.1%), Black (13.5%), Two or More Races (3.4%). 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 Miley (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 Miley mean?
An Irish surname derived from the Gaelic "Ó Maoilmhichíl," meaning "descendant of the devotee of St. Michael." 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 Miley (2.25 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 many Americans have the surname Miley?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.