boy's name
Miles
MYLZ
- Origin Latin
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 1
- Letters 5
- Popularity Top 100 (US)
- Births on record 139,301
the United States
#44
2025 births
Miles is a boy's name of disputed origin, usually connected to the Latin miles, meaning soldier. A competing theory derives it from the Germanic Milo, and a third links it to a Slavic root meaning gracious, so reference works generally present more than one explanation.
- Miles is a name of Latin origin.
- Peaked in 2024, when 6,655 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 545 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 1 syllable, with the stress on syllable 1.
Miles over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 418 |
| 1890s | 443 |
| 1900s | 413 |
| 1910s | 1,583 |
| 1920s | 2,345 |
| 1930s | 1,658 |
| 1940s | 1,994 |
| 1950s | 3,174 |
| 1960s | 2,834 |
| 1970s | 2,246 |
| 1980s | 5,704 |
| 1990s | 9,837 |
| 2000s | 17,842 |
| 2010s | 36,734 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 36,000 |
What Miles means
Miles is most often glossed as soldier, from the Latin miles, the ordinary word for a foot soldier and the root of English military and militia. The Germanic and Slavic derivations would give quite different senses, and none of the three is settled.
Where Miles comes from
Miles arrived in England with the Normans as Milo, and where that came from is unresolved. The obvious candidate is the Latin miles, soldier — the word behind military, militant, and militia — but the sound change from Milo to Miles is not straightforwardly explained by it. Others derive Milo from a Germanic root, or connect it to the Slavic mil, meaning gracious or dear, the same element behind Mila and Ludmila. What is certain is that Milo and Miles circulated together in medieval England as forms of one name. In American use the name is strongly associated with the trumpeter Miles Davis, whose influence kept it in circulation through the twentieth century.
Miles in use
Miles and Milo are the same medieval name, and English kept both forms rather than choosing between them.
How popular is Miles?
In 2025, Miles was given to 6,085 babies in the United States, ranking #44 that year. It is one of the most popular names in the United States.
Where Miles is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Miles
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Miles also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Miles over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Miles in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Miles
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Miles — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Miles
What does the name Miles mean?
Miles is usually glossed as "soldier," from the Latin miles, though its origin is genuinely disputed.
Are Miles and Milo the same name?
Yes. Both descend from the Norman Milo, and English retained both forms.
What is the difference between Miles and Myles?
Only spelling — Myles is a variant particularly associated with Irish usage.
How popular is the name Miles?
In 2025, Miles was given to 6,085 babies in the United States, ranking #44 that year. It is one of the most popular names in the United States.
Is Miles a girl's or a boy's name?
Miles is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Miles?
Miles has 1 syllable.
When was Miles most popular?
Miles peaked in 2024, when 6,655 babies were given the name. It has been rising over the past decade.
Is Miles a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Miles currently ranks #38 in the United States. It has been rising over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.