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Mila vs Nadia

Which is more popular?
Mila is more popular than Nadia today: about 4,796 US babies were given the name Mila in 2025, compared with 531 named Nadia.
MilaNadia
Meaning Dear, gracious hope
Origin slavic slavic
Gender Girl Girl
Pronunciation MEE-lah NAH-dee-ah
Syllables 2 3
First appeared18811911
Peak year2018 (8,169)2005 (1,923)
In 20254,796531
TrendRisingDeclining
Popularity over time, 1880–2025
Mila Nadia
1900192019401960198020002020

Source: US Social Security Administration.

Births by decade

DecadeMilaNadia
2020s 35,670 3,818
2010s 44,114 9,868
2000s 2,885 15,665
1990s 311 7,134
1980s 163 5,533
1970s 206 3,076
1960s 258 536
1950s 230 355
1940s 168 157
1930s 142 166
1920s 178 151
1910s 99 97
1900s 30 0
1890s 25 0
1880s 10 0

What does Mila mean?

From the Slavic element mil 'dear, gracious, loving', used as a short form of names like Milena and Ludmila. (A separate Spanish Mila is a short form of Milagros 'miracles'; the love sense is Slavic.)

What does Nadia mean?

A Slavic name derived from Russian/Bulgarian Nadezhda, from Old Slavic for 'hope' (Proto-Slavic root naděja). Originally a diminutive of Nadezhda, it is widely used as a given name in its own right. Note: a separate Arabic name Nadiyyah ('tender, delicate') is sometimes conflated with it but is an unrelated root.

Frequently asked questions

Is Mila or Nadia more popular?

Mila is more popular than Nadia today: about 4,796 US babies were given the name Mila in 2025, compared with 531 named Nadia.

What is the difference between Mila and Nadia?

Mila means Dear, gracious (slavic origin), while Nadia means hope (slavic origin).

Which name is older, Mila or Nadia?

In US records, Mila first appears in 1881 and Nadia in 1911, so Mila has the longer recorded history.