Milan (

Cyrillic , bg, кирилица , mk, кирилица , russian: кириллица , sr, ћирилица, uk, кирилиця , fam1 = Egyptian hieroglyphs , fam2 = Proto-Sinaitic , fam3 = Phoenician , fam4 = G ...

: Милан) is a common Slavic male name and less commonly, a Roman name. It is derived from the Slavic element ''mil'', with meanings kind, loving, and gracious. Milan was originally a

diminutive A diminutive is a root word that has been modified to convey a slighter degree of its root meaning, either to convey the smallness of the object or quality named, or to convey a sense of intimacy or endearment. A (abbreviated ) is a word-formati ...

nickname A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

for those whose

Slavic names Given names originating from the Slavic languages are most common in Slavic countries. The main types of Slavic names: * Two-basic names, often ending in mir/měr (''Ostromir/měr'', ''Tihomir/měr'', '' Němir/měr''), *voldъ (''Vsevolod'', ...

began with "Mil-". It is found in

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

North Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

, and

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

. It was in the top 5 names for boys born in

in 2012. It was in the top 20 names for boys born in Slovakia in 2004. It was the eighth most popular name for boys born in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

in 2007, and seventh in

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...

in 2009.

Eastern European origin and use

It originates from the

Old Slavic Old Church Slavonic or Old Slavonic () was the first Slavic literary language. Historians credit the 9th-century Byzantine missionaries Saints Cyril and Methodius with standardizing the language and using it in translating the Bible and other ...

word ''mil'', variant: ''mio'', i.e. "beloved", "pleasant", "dear" which is common at the beginning of many Slavic names. This is the same root in

Serbian names This article features the naming culture of personal names of ethnic Serbs and the Serbian language. Serbian names are rendered in the "Western name order" with the surname placed after the given name. "Eastern name order" may be used when multi ...

Miloslav Miloslav is a Slavic names, Slavic masculine given name, derived from the Slavic root ''mil-'', "merciful" or "dear", and ''-slav'' ''glory''. Name variants * feminine form: Miloslava * diminutive form: Miloš * Polish: Miłosław/Miłosława ...

, Milomir,

Milica Milica ( sr-Cyrl, Милица; pronounced 'Millitsa') is a feminine name popular in Balkan countries. It is a diminutive form of the given name Mila, meaning 'kind', 'dear' or 'sweet'. The name was used for a number of queens and princesses, incl ...

, Milka,

Miloš Miloš, Milos, Miłosz or spelling variations thereof is a masculine given name and a surname. It may refer to: Given name Sportsmen * Miłosz Bernatajtys, Polish rower * Miloš Bogunović, Serbian footballer * Miloš Budaković, Serbian ...

, Milutin, Miodrag,

Miomir Miomir ( sr-cyr, Миомир) is a Serbo-Croatian masculine given name of Slavic origin. It may refer to: *Miomir Mugoša (born 1955), Montenegrin politician *Miomir Vukobratović (1931–2012), Serbian inventor *Miomir Žužul (born 1955), Croati ...

etc. most of which were first recorded in Serbian sources already in the pre- Nemanjić Age. According to the Czech calendar Milan's Day is on 18 June, Slovenian calendar: 11 September, 11 October, 12 November, Croatian calendar: 13 November, Slovak calendar: 27 November, Hungary: 19 May

Roman name

Milan is also a name used in Romance-speaking Europe owing to its

Ancient Roman In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC ...

meaning of "eager and laborious". The people named like that are named after the Italian city by that name.

Other versions

Men's versions of the name: Milanek (diminutive), Miladin, Milad, Milanko, Milče, Milček, Milči, Milčo,

Mile The mile, sometimes the international mile or statute mile to distinguish it from other miles, is a British imperial unit and United States customary unit of distance; both are based on the older English unit of length equal to 5,280 English ...

, Milen, Milenko, Miletus, Mili, Milivoj, Milibor, Milidrag, Miligoj, Milija, Milijan, Milinko, Milisav, Milivoj, Milivoje, Milk, Milivojko, Miljan, Miljenko, Miljutin, Milko, Milodrag, Milogoj, Miloje, Milojko, Miloljub, Milomir, Milorad, Miloslav,

, Miłosz, Bogumił, Milovan, Milun, Milutin, Mišo
Female versions of the name: , Milanka,

Milena Milena may refer to: * Milena (skipper), ''Milena'' (skipper), a genus of skippers in the family Hesperiidae * Milena, Sicily, a ''comune'' in the Province of Caltanissetta, Italy * Milena (given name), a popular female Slavic name * Milena (film ...

, Milijana, Miljanka, Milinka, Milislava, Milivoje, Milivojka, Mila, Miljana, Miljanka, Milka, Milojka, Milodraga, Milomirka, Milorad, Milosav, Milosavka, Miloslavka, Miloška, Milovana, Milovanka, Milunka

Family names derived from names

From the name of Milan and its variants a number of surnames were created. The most famous are: Milanović, Milanovac, Milanković, Miłosław, Milanić, Milač, Milavec, Miletić, Milić, Miljković, and others.

People

* Milan I of Serbia, the ruling Prince of Serbia (1868–1882), and later King of Serbia (1882–1889) * Milan Acquaah (born 1997), American basketball player *

Milan Aleksić Milan Aleksić ( sr-cyr, Милан Алексић; born 13 May 1986) is a Serbian water polo center back who plays for Partizan and the Serbia men's national water polo team. He is a 2016 and 2020 Olympic champion and a 2012 Olympic bronze medal ...

, Serbian water polo player, Olympic champion *

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

, Indian film art director *

Milan the Leather Boy Milan Radenkovich (December 15, 1941 – March 14, 1971), who was always credited mononymously as Milan, was an American record producer, songwriter and recording artist on numerous songs made throughout the 1960s, mostly though not exclusively ...

, a New York musician and producer active in the 1960s * Milan Balažic, Slovene politician and diplomat * Milan Baroš, Czech football player *

Milan Biševac Milan Biševac ( sr-Cyrl, Милан Бишевац; born 31 August 1983) is a Serbian former footballer who played as centre-back. In international competition, he has represented the Serbia national team. Club career Early career Biševac ...

, Serbian football player *

Milan Begović Milan Begović (January 19, 1876 – May 13, 1948) was a Croatian writer, born in Vrlika, in the territory of today's Croatia. He was educated in Split, Zagreb and Vienna and spent some time as high school professor in Split before going to Hambu ...

, Croatian writer * Milan (drag queen), American drag queen * Milan Ftáčnik, Slovak politician, former mayor of Slovak capital city of Bratislava *

Milán Füst Milán Füst (17 July 1888, Budapest – 26 July 1967, Budapest) was a Hungarian writer, poet and playwright. Biography Early in life, his family lived on Dohány utca in the 7th district of Budapest. In 1908 he met the writer Ernő Osvát a ...

, Hungarian writer *

Milan Hejduk Milan Hejduk (; born February 14, 1976) is a Czech-American former professional ice hockey forward. Nicknamed "the Duke", he spent his entire 14-year National Hockey League (NHL) career with the Colorado Avalanche and retired holding the record ...

, Czech ice hockey player * Milan Hodža, Slovak Prime Minister of Czechoslovakia * Milan Jayathilaka (born 1981), Sri Lankan politician * Milan Jovanović, several notable people with this name *

Milan Kangrga Milan Kangrga (1 May 1923 – 25 April 2008) was a Croatian and Yugoslav philosopher who was one of the leading thinkers in the Praxis School of thought which originated in the 1960s in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Biography Kan ...

, Croatian philosopher * Milan Karlíček, Czech ice hockey player *

Milan Komar Milan Komar, also known as Emilio Komar (4 June 1921 – 20 January 2006) was a Slovene Argentine Catholic philosopher and essayist. Life He was born in Ljubljana, Slovenia, then part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, to a Slovene f ...

, Slovene philosopher * Milan Kučan, President of Slovenia *

Milan Kundera Milan Kundera (, ; born 1 April 1929) is a Czech writer who went into exile in France in 1975, becoming a naturalised French citizen in 1981. Kundera's Czechoslovak citizenship was revoked in 1979, then conferred again in 2019. He "sees himself ...

, Czech writer * Milan Lucic, Canadian hockey player * Milan Máčala, Czech football coach *

Milan Mačvan Milan Mačvan ( sr, Милан Мачван, born 16 November 1989) is a Serbian former professional basketball player. Standing at , he played at the power forward position. He also represented the Serbian national basketball team internationall ...

, Serbian basketball player * Milan Michálek, Czech ice hockey player *

Milan Mladenović Milan Mladenović ( sr-Cyrl, Милан Младеновић; 21 September 1958 – 5 November 1994) was a Serbian and Yugoslavian musician best known as the frontman of the Yugoslav art rock band Ekatarina Velika. Early life Born to Serbian f ...

, Serbian musician * Milan Nedić, Prime Minister of Nazi-occupied Serbia *

Milan Obrenović II Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city has ...

, Prince of Serbia *

Milan Pogačnik Milan Pogačnik (born 30 August 1946) is a Slovenian politician. Between November 2008 and March 2010, he served as the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Nutrition of Slovenia. Biography Pogačnik was born in Celje, then part of the People's ...

, Slovenian politician *

Milan Puskar Milan "Mike" Puškar (September 8, 1934 – October 7, 2011) was an American entrepreneur and philanthropist from Morgantown, West Virginia. Biography Puskar was born in Vintondale, Pennsylvania, to ethnic Serbian parents from Kordun. He gradu ...

, Serbian-American entrepreneur *

Milan Rapaić Milan Rapaić (born 16 August 1973) is a Croatian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He primary played as an attacking midfielder or winger. International career He made his debut for Croatia in an April 1994 friendly ma ...

, Croatian football player *

Milan Rešetar Milan Rešetar (February 1, 1860 – January 14, 1942) was a linguist, historian and literary critic from Dubrovnik. Biography Rešetar was born in Dubrovnik. After the gymnasium in Dubrovnik, he studied classical philology and Slavic languages i ...

, Serbian linguist and historian *

Milan Rúfus Milan Rúfus (December 10, 1928 – January 11, 2009) was a Slovak poet, essayist, translator, children's writer and academic. Rúfus is the most translated Slovak poet into other languages. Life Milan Rúfus was born to a family of brickla ...

, Slovak poet * Milan Rastislav Štefánik, Slovak politician and astronomer, general of French Army *

Milan Stanković Milan Stanković ( sr-cyrl, Милан Станковић; born 9 September 1987) is a Serbian singer-songwriter. He rose to prominence as a finalist on the televised singing competition ''Zvezde Granda'' in 2007, and acquired wider fame by rep ...

, Serbian singer *

Milan Šašik Milan Šašik CM (17 September 1952 – 14 July 2020) was a Ruthenian Catholic hierarch, from Slovakia, who served as Bishop of the Eparchy of Mukachevo, in Ukraine. Life He was born on 17 September 1952 in Lehota, Slovakia. After primary a ...

, Slovak bishop * Milan Šufflay, Croatian historian and politician *

Milan Uzelac Milan Uzelac (; born 28 August 1932) was a Bosnian politician who was the 7th President of the League of Communists of Bosnia and Herzegovina from June 1986 until May 1988. He died in London on 6 July 2005. Biography Uzelac was born on 28 Augu ...

, Serbian poet and essayist * Milan Vaclavik, Slovak military general and defense minister (1985-1989) * Milan Vidmar, Slovene engineer, chess player, and philosopher

Fictional characters

* Milan Hendrickx, a recurring character in the Belgian series ''

wtFOCK ''WtFOCK'' (stylised as ''wtFOCK'') is a Belgian teen drama web series broadcast by VIER and VIJF that follows the lives of teenagers in Antwerp. It is an adaption of the popular Norwegian series '' SKAM''. By the end of the first series, around ...

''.

Notes

{{given name Masculine given names Czech masculine given names Serbian masculine given names Croatian masculine given names Macedonian masculine given names Slovene masculine given names Bosnian masculine given names Bulgarian masculine given names Hungarian masculine given names Polish masculine given names Slovak masculine given names German masculine given names Dutch masculine given names Slavic masculine given names Swedish masculine given names