Milena
Meaning of Milena
Milena dances out of the Slavic woods, her name stitched from the root “mil,” meaning “gracious” or “dear,” and carried south by wandering troubadours until Italian piazzas echoed the same lilting mee-LEH-nah. Picture her as a sun-kissed storyteller: part velvet-voiced Czech lullaby, part Roman holiday, always opening doors with that warm, melodious “mee-LÉH-nah.” She’s graced opera houses through Oscar-winning costume designer Milena Canonero, lit up TV screens with actress Milena Govich, and even penned Mediterranean memoirs via Sardinian novelist Milena Agus—proof that this five-letter spark plugs creativity wherever it lands. In the U.S., Milena has quietly climbed the baby-name ladder—hovering in the 600s today yet inching upward like ivy, steady and determined. For parents hunting a name that feels both classic and freshly picked, Milena offers a bouquet of grace, global flair, and just enough sparkle to keep life interesting.
Pronunciation
Slavic Languages (e.g. Czech, Polish)
- Pronunced as mee-LAY-nah (/miˈlɛna/)
Italian
- Pronunced as mee-LEH-nah (/miˈlɛna/)
U.S. Popularity Chart
States Popularity Chart
Notable People Named Milena
| Milena Canonero is an acclaimed Italian costume designer who has won four Academy Awards and numerous other prestigious honors. |
| Milena Pavlović-Barili was a Serbian painter and poet, recognized as the most notable female artist of Serbian modernism. |
| Milena Glimbovski is a Russian-German entrepreneur, author, and zero-waste activist who founded the Berlin-based zero-waste grocery store Original Unverpackt. |
| Milena Kitic is a Serbian American opera singer with a mezzo-soprano voice. |
| Milena Doleželová-Velingerová, a renowned Czech sinologist, fled Prague after the 1968 Soviet invasion, built her career at the University of Toronto, and continued publishing widely after retirement. |
| Milena Gabanelli is an Italian journalist and TV host famous for her investigative program "Report" on Rai 3. |
| Milena Nikolić, captain of Bosnia and Herzegovina's women's national team, is their all-time top scorer with over 100 matches and plays as a forward for ZFK CSKA Moscow. |
| Milena Slavova is a Bulgarian punk rock singer. |
