Head to head · Girls' names
Elena vs Mila
#42 vs #43 in 2025
Elena is a whisker ahead (#42 vs #43 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Elena is climbing the charts fast, Mila is stepping back from its peak.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
On the charts, Elena leads 5 measures of 6; Mila leads 1.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: Elena #760, Mila #1055 — Elena higher
- 1890s: Elena #681, Mila #1312 — Elena higher
- 1900s: Elena #580, Mila #1737 — Elena higher
- 1910s: Elena #494, Mila #2323 — Elena higher
- 1920s: Elena #468, Mila #2146 — Elena higher
- 1930s: Elena #518, Mila #2257 — Elena higher
- 1940s: Elena #507, Mila #2276 — Elena higher
- 1950s: Elena #484, Mila #2299 — Elena higher
- 1960s: Elena #440, Mila #2439 — Elena higher
- 1970s: Elena #397, Mila #3426 — Elena higher
- 1980s: Elena #372, Mila #4669 — Elena higher
- 1990s: Elena #303, Mila #4285 — Elena higher
- 2000s: Elena #213, Mila #1139 — Elena higher
- 2010s: Elena #111, Mila #97 — Mila higher
- 2020s: Elena #49, Mila #28 — Mila higher
Elena stood higher in 13 of 15 decades; Mila has held the lead since the 2010s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Elena | Mila |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #760 | #1055 |
| 1890s | #681 | #1312 |
| 1900s | #580 | #1737 |
| 1910s | #494 | #2323 |
| 1920s | #468 | #2146 |
| 1930s | #518 | #2257 |
| 1940s | #507 | #2276 |
| 1950s | #484 | #2299 |
| 1960s | #440 | #2439 |
| 1970s | #397 | #3426 |
| 1980s | #372 | #4669 |
| 1990s | #303 | #4285 |
| 2000s | #213 | #1139 |
| 2010s | #111 | #97 |
| 2020s | #49 | #28 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Elena
- France#42
- Canada#48
Mila
- Canada#11
- Scotland#40
- England & Wales#46
- France#54
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Elena
Most often read as "torch" or "light", though the root is genuinely disputed
Elena goes back to Greek Helenē, and nobody has settled what that word meant. The two long-standing readings connect it to helenē, a torch, and to selas, brightness or light; a third links it to the moon-name Selene. The name is far older than the explanations offered for it, which is why the explanations compete.
Helenē → Helena → Elena
How it traveled
The name begins in Greek as Helenē, borne by the figure at the center of Homer's Iliad, and passes into Latin as Helena. From Latin it settled across the Romance and Slavic worlds, losing its initial H along the way: Elena in Italian, Spanish and Romanian, Yelena in Russian.
Mila
dear, gracious, kind
The element mil- carries this sense across the Slavic languages. Worth knowing that Mila also reaches families by other roads: as a clipped form of Emilia, Camila or Amelia, and in Spanish-speaking families as a short form of Milagros, "miracles". The sound is the same; the family story behind it differs.
mil- (Slavic element: dear, gracious) → Milena / Ludmila → Mila
How it traveled
The root is Slavic: mil-, meaning dear or gracious, which appears in old compound names such as Miloslav, Bogumila, Ludmila and Milena. Mila began as the affectionate short form of those names and became a full given name in its own right across Serbia, Croatia, Russia, Poland and the Czech lands.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Elena
eh-LAY-nuh
Also widely said eh-LEH-nah, closer to the Spanish and Italian, and some families stress the first syllable: EH-leh-nah. All three are established, so it is worth deciding which one you want and saying it that way from the start.
- Ellie — The most common English short form, and a standalone given name in its own right.
- Lena — The standard shortening in Italian, German and Slavic families; also used alone as a full name.
- Elle — A clipped, one-syllable option; independently in use as a given name.
- Nellie — An older short form of the Helen family, informal and still recognized across generations.
- Also Lenka, Elenita.
Mila
MEE-lah
MEE-lah is the standard pronunciation and the one used in every language the name comes from. A second English pronunciation, MY-lah, circulates in the US, partly by analogy with the separate spelling Myla — so expect to correct people occasionally, whichever you choose.
- Millie — Informal; also a long-established given name in its own right in English, more often tied to Millicent or Amelia.
- Mimi — Household nickname rather than a formal one; used within families across several languages.
- Milka — The traditional Slavic diminutive of Mila, still used in Serbian and Croatian families.
- Mi — A one-syllable clip used informally; Mila is already short enough that many bearers use no nickname at all.
Who has carried each name
Elena
Elena Ferrante (b. 1943) — Mystery-shrouded author of My Brilliant Friend
Elena Kagan (b. 1960) — US Supreme Court justice
Elena Cornaro Piscopia (b. 1646) — First woman ever to earn a doctoral degree (Padua, 1678)
Mila
Mila Kunis (b. 1983) — That '70s Show and Black Swan star
Source: Wikidata — the one source on this page that is not an official agency.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Elena if you want…
- a name on the way upup 13 places on the charts in five years
- a name with more sound in itElena runs 3 syllables, Mila 2
- plenty of nickname options6 recorded short forms — Ellie, Lena and Elle
- a long American recordElena was already in use when US records began in 1880
Choose Mila if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsMila is stepping back from its peak
- a name with fewer syllablesMila is 2 syllables to Elena's 3
- a name that charts abroad tooMila is on the national lists of Canada, Scotland, England & Wales and France
- a newer arrivalMila entered the US charts in 1881
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Elena
Strengths
- The same spelling works in Italian, Spanish, Romanian and Russian-speaking families, with no adjustment and no explanation needed.
- Several long-established short forms already exist — Ellie, Lena, Elle — so nothing has to be invented.
- Part of the Helen family, one of the oldest documented name lines in Europe, in unbroken use since ancient Greek.
To consider
- Three pronunciations are all correct, and Elena will spend some of her life correcting people who chose a different one.
- It sits in a crowded field of near-identical spellings — Elaina, Alaina, Helena, Alayna — so expect to spell it aloud fairly often.
- The name is climbing steadily, so it is likely to feel more common by the time she reaches school than it does now.
Mila
Strengths
- Four letters, spelled the way it sounds in English, Spanish and most Slavic languages — rarely needs to be repeated or spelled out.
- Works as a standalone name or as the short form of Emilia, Camila, Amelia, Milena or Milagros, which gives a longer formal option if you want one.
- Charts in Canada, Scotland, England & Wales and France as well as the US, so it crosses borders without translation.
To consider
- Two pronunciations compete in the US, MEE-lah and MY-lah. Both are used; you will be the one who sets the default, and will sometimes have to reset it.
- It sits in a crowded sound-neighborhood — Mia, Milla, Myla, Ella, Layla, Amelia. Mail and roll calls may need a second look.
- The name's wave is genuinely recent, so nearly everyone who carries it in the US is a child. That reads young now and will simply read as a generation later on.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Elena
51%chance Elena feels dated by 2040
Elena is climbing fast right now. Steep climbs tend to come with steep descents — the quicker a name arrives, the more firmly it belongs to its moment.
Mila
82%chance Mila feels dated by 2040
Mila is coming down from a big peak (#14 in 2018). This is the stretch of the cycle where a name starts to sound like the decade it ruled.
A reading of where each name sits on the long naming cycle — computed, not measured, and explained on the data page.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Elena and Mila in full.
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Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
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More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists that carry both names
Every list here names both Elena and Mila — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Elena or Mila — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Elena or Mila?
- Elena, in 2025: Elena ranked #42 with 4,836 babies; Mila ranked #43 with 4,796 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Elena or Mila?
- Elena. Over the last five years Elena moved up 13 places; Mila moved down 23 places.
- Which is the older name, Elena or Mila?
- Elena was already in use when US records began in 1880; Mila entered the US charts in 1881. On the American record, Elena is the older name.
- How many people are named Elena and Mila?
- About 100,000 people named Elena are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 83,500 people named Mila are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Elenas or Milas in the classroom?
- Elena will almost certainly be the only one in school. Mila will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025; international figures from national statistics agencies. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
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