2000
#43,798
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 464
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.17
Very Rare Last name
Milius
A surname derived from the given name Milius, an ancient Roman family name of unknown origin.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 662 Americans carry the last name Milius. That puts it at #40,800 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.19 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 517,756 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Milius 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.
Bearers in the US
662
1 in 517,756
Census rank
#40,800
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
577
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 577 bearers of the surname Milius in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.19 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 40800th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Milius, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.4%. The next largest groups are Black (14.6%) and Hispanic (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Milius
The surname MILIUS has its origins in Lithuania, dating back to the 16th century. It is believed to have derived from the Lithuanian personal name Milus or Milius, which was a diminutive form of the name Mykolas, the Lithuanian variant of the name Nicholas.
MILIUS is considered a patronymic surname, meaning it was initially used to identify someone as the son of a person named Milus or Milius. In Lithuanian naming traditions, patronymic surnames were commonly formed by adding the suffix "-ius" to the father's name.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname MILIUS can be found in the Lithuanian Metrica, a collection of historical documents dating back to the 15th and 16th centuries. These records mention several individuals with the surname MILIUS, indicating its usage during that time period.
The MILIUS name has also been associated with various locations in Lithuania, such as the town of Milius, which may have contributed to the surname's development or served as a place of origin for some families bearing the name.
Notable individuals with the surname MILIUS include:
1. Mykolas Milius (1828-1901), a Lithuanian priest, author, and educator who played a significant role in the Lithuanian National Revival movement.
2. Justinas Milius (1893-1975), a Lithuanian diplomat and politician who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania from 1939 to 1940.
3. Jonas Milius (1804-1885), a Lithuanian priest and writer who contributed to the development of the Lithuanian language and literature.
4. Juozas Milius (1872-1942), a Lithuanian lawyer and politician who served as the Minister of Justice of Lithuania in the early 20th century.
5. Antanas Milius (1899-1942), a Lithuanian military officer and diplomat who served as the Lithuanian representative to the League of Nations in the 1930s.
While the MILIUS surname has its roots in Lithuania, it has since spread to other parts of the world due to migration and intermarriage. However, its origins and historical significance remain closely tied to the Lithuanian culture and heritage.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Milius
Among Census respondents with the surname Milius, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.4%. The next largest groups are Black (14.6%) and Hispanic (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Milius 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 Milius surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White79.4% · 458
- Black or African American14.6% · 84
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 17
- Two or more races1.7% · 10
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 8
Timeline
Historical Census data for Milius
Milius 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
#43,438
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 497
+33 bearers (+7.1%)
Per 100,000 0.17
Rank movement Up 360 places
2020
#40,800
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 577
+80 bearers (+16.1%)
Per 100,000 0.19
Rank movement Up 2,638 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #43,798 | 464 | 0.17 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #43,438 | 497 | 0.17 | +33 bearers (+7.1%) | Up 360 places |
| 2020 | #40,800 | 577 | 0.19 | +80 bearers (+16.1%) | Up 2,638 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 Milius 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 | #43,438 | #40,800 | 6.1% |
| Count | 497 | 577 | 16.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.17 | 0.19 | 13.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Milius bearers went from 497 to 577 (+16.1% change). The surname moved up 2,638 positions in the national ranking, going from #43,438 to #40,800.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Milius
FAQ
Milius surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Milius?
Name Census estimates that about 662 living Americans carry the surname Milius. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 517,756 residents.
How common is Milius?
Milius ranks #40,800 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.19 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 577 people with the surname Milius. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (662), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.19 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.19 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Milius.
Has Milius become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Milius went from 497 recorded bearers to 577. That is an increase of 80 (+16.1%). In the national ranking it rose from #43,438 to #40,800.
What does the Census say about the background of Milius?
Among Census respondents with the surname Milius, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.4%. The next largest groups are Black (14.6%) and Hispanic (2.9%). 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 Milius in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.4% (458 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Milius appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (79.4%), Black (14.6%), Hispanic (2.9%). 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 Milius (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 Milius mean?
A surname derived from the given name Milius, an ancient Roman family name of unknown origin. 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 Milius (0.19 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 Milius?
You can see how common the surname Milius is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.