Head to head · Girls' names
Lina vs Miller
#572 vs #571 in 2025
Miller is a whisker ahead (#571 vs #572 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Miller is climbing the charts fast, Lina is back after a long quiet spell.
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
The tape is even: Lina and Miller each lead 3 measures of 6.
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: Lina #295, Miller — — Lina higher
- 1890s: Lina #373, Miller — — Lina higher
- 1900s: Lina #471, Miller — — Lina higher
- 1910s: Lina #619, Miller #3777 — Lina higher
- 1920s: Lina #726, Miller #4827 — Lina higher
- 1930s: Lina #821, Miller #3869 — Lina higher
- 1940s: Lina #1010, Miller #4416 — Lina higher
- 1950s: Lina #1169, Miller — — Lina higher
- 1960s: Lina #1144, Miller — — Lina higher
- 1970s: Lina #1138, Miller — — Lina higher
- 1980s: Lina #1076, Miller #9825 — Lina higher
- 1990s: Lina #1075, Miller #8394 — Lina higher
- 2000s: Lina #974, Miller #7076 — Lina higher
- 2010s: Lina #802, Miller #2863 — Lina higher
- 2020s: Lina #611, Miller #1036 — Lina higher
Lina stood higher in every recorded decade — 15 of 15.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Lina | Miller |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #295 | — |
| 1890s | #373 | — |
| 1900s | #471 | — |
| 1910s | #619 | #3777 |
| 1920s | #726 | #4827 |
| 1930s | #821 | #3869 |
| 1940s | #1010 | #4416 |
| 1950s | #1169 | — |
| 1960s | #1144 | — |
| 1970s | #1138 | — |
| 1980s | #1076 | #9825 |
| 1990s | #1075 | #8394 |
| 2000s | #974 | #7076 |
| 2010s | #802 | #2863 |
| 2020s | #611 | #1036 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Lina
- France#17
Miller
Not charting outside the US.
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Lina
Two roads: the ending of names like Carolina, Angelina and Adelina, cut loose; and an Arabic name from a word for softness, used for a young palm tree
The European Lina is a clipping — the final syllables of Latin-derived names in ‑lina, used so long on their own that they became a name in their own right. That path carries no meaning beyond its parent name's. The Arabic لينا comes from the root for soft or tender; līna is also a word for a kind of palm, which appears in the Qur'an (59:5). Both are genuine, and a given Lina may come from either.
Carolina, Adelina, Angelina → Lina
How it traveled
The ‑lina ending belongs to a long family of Latin names — Carolina, Adelina, Paulina, Evelina — and in Italy, Germany and Scandinavia the habit of shortening them to the last two syllables goes back centuries. By the nineteenth century Lina was being registered as a full given name in its own right across German- and Italian-speaking Europe, and it traveled to the United States with those families.
Miller
one who grinds grain — a mill worker
From Middle English millere, from the mill itself (Old English mylen, borrowed from Latin molina).
mylen (Old English, 'mill') → millere (Middle English) → Miller
How it traveled
Miller began as an occupational surname in medieval England and Scotland, given to the man who ran the mill — one of the few pieces of heavy machinery a village possessed, and one of its busiest social centers. It grew into one of the most widespread surnames in the English-speaking world, swelled further in America when German-speaking families arriving in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries translated Müller into its English twin.
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
Lina
LEE-nuh
LEE-nuh is the standard reading in English, Arabic, German, Italian and Spanish alike. Where the name is taken as a short form of Carolina, some English speakers say LY-nuh, so it is worth deciding early which one you will correct people to.
- Lin — Informal clipping; also used as a standalone name in its own right, particularly in Chinese contexts where it is unrelated.
- Linny — Affectionate family form, mostly used with young children.
- Li — Very short informal address within families; rarely written.
Miller
MIL-er
Two syllables, stress on the first, identical to the English word miller. No ambiguity in American English.
- Millie — Informal; also a long-established given name in its own right, and the short form most likely to be reached for if Miller is a girl.
- Mills — Informal, surname-style; common among friends and teammates rather than family.
- Mill — Short and informal, mostly within the family.
- Milly — Spelling variant of Millie, used informally.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Lina if you want…
- a name that charts abroad tooLina is on the national lists of France
- a long American recordLina was already in use when US records began in 1880
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 30% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 61% for Miller
Choose Miller if you want…
- a name on the way upup 948 places on the charts in five years
- a newer arrivalMiller entered the US charts in 1915
- a name that feels very nowMiller is climbing the charts fast
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
Lina
Strengths
- Four letters, two syllables, and read the same way in Arabic, German, Italian, Spanish and Swedish — it crosses borders without changing shape.
- Complete on its own, but it also works as the everyday form of Carolina, Angelina or Adelina if you want a longer name on the certificate.
- Familiar in sound without being crowded — a child is unlikely to share it in a classroom.
To consider
- Lena, Leena, Lyna and Lina all circulate, and so do two pronunciations. Expect a lifetime of small corrections — a friendly one, but constant.
- On the phone it is easily heard as Nina, Lena or Tina. Spelling it out becomes routine.
- It is very short, which reads well beside a longer surname and can feel clipped beside a one-syllable one. Worth saying the full name aloud a few times.
Miller
Strengths
- A spelling nearly every American already knows from the surname, so it rarely needs to be repeated or corrected.
- One clear pronunciation, with no competing versions to head off.
- Carries a ready-made short form in Millie, plus the informal Mills.
To consider
- It is a very common last name, so forms, roll calls and email systems will sometimes read it as a surname in the wrong column — and a classmate may well have it as theirs.
- Miller is also a large American beer brand, an association strong enough that adults will occasionally make the joke.
- The name leans to boys without settling there. A girl named Miller will be in the smaller group, and Millie may pull her toward a more traditionally feminine everyday name.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Lina
30%chance Lina feels dated by 2040
Lina is on its second act. Revived names age gently: the generation that wore them first is far enough away that the name feels classic rather than dated.
Miller
61%chance Miller feels dated by 2040
Miller 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.
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 Lina and Miller in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Lina and Miller?
Put both to the vote.
One link to your partner, your parents, your sister. Each of them gets the two names, a one-tap answer and room to say why — and every reply lands in one place.
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More than two in the running? Settle it with a bracket or run the full comparison with your last name.
More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists these names appear on
- Grandmother-chic: 1920s names ready to return
- France's favorites still rare in America
- The longest comebacks in the records
- Names that work in Spanish and English
- all guides
Where Lina and Miller each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Lina or Miller — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Lina or Miller?
- Miller, in 2025: Miller ranked #571 with 528 babies; Lina ranked #572 with 527 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Lina or Miller?
- Miller. Over the last five years Lina moved up 118 places; Miller moved up 948 places.
- Which is the older name, Lina or Miller?
- Lina was already in use when US records began in 1880; Miller entered the US charts in 1915. On the American record, Lina is the older name.
- How many people are named Lina and Miller?
- About 15,000 people named Lina are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 2,700 people named Miller are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Linas or Millers in the classroom?
- Lina will almost certainly be the only one in school. Miller 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
Keep playing
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