Milinda
Feminine
Milinda is the name a Greek king is called in a Buddhist scripture. Menander ruled a Greek kingdom in north-western India two centuries before Christ, and a Pali text records a long conversation between him and a monk about whether there is any such thing as a self. The book is called the Questions of King Milinda and it is still read.
How old is the name Milinda?
Milinda first appears in US birth records in 1945 — 80 years ago. The typical Milinda alive today was born around 1974, making them about 51 years old. About 1,000 people named Milinda are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Milinda most popular?
Milinda peaked in 1961, reaching #2036 nationally. See the whole 1961 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From a Greek king rules in north-western India to Milinda
The story of Milinda
Menander was one of the Greek kings left behind in India by Alexander's conquests, and he ruled a substantial kingdom from what is now Pakistan. Buddhist tradition holds that he was converted, and the text records his questions with a sharpness that suggests somebody had heard a real Greek argue: he presses the monk on how there can be rebirth without a soul, and gets the famous answer about a chariot — that the chariot is not the wheels, the axle or the pole, and is not anything besides them either. His coins survive, with Greek on one side and an Indian script on the other.
Meaningnot established
Not established
As an American name this is almost certainly a respelling of Melinda, itself a name of uncertain construction that appeared in English in the eighteenth century. The Pali form is unrelated in origin: it is how Indian speakers rendered a Greek name they had heard, and the fact that it lands on the same letters as a modern American respelling is a coincidence. It is worth telling anyway, because the coincidence is a very good story.
How the name formed
- a Greek king rules in north-western India
- a Pali text records his questions to a monk
- Melinda appears in English in the eighteenth century
- American families respell it in the twentieth
- Milinda enters the record in the 1940s
Related forms: Melinda · Milinda · Menandros
Pronouncing Milinda
muh-LIN-duh
Three syllables with the weight in the middle. The first vowel is unstressed, which is why it can be written with an e or an i without anybody hearing the difference.
Nicknames for Milinda
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1945
- Most girls named
- 196133 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2036reached in 1961
- Change vs 2021
- −37.5%5 in 2024, from 8
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Milinda in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Melinda in English — spelling variant
- Milinda in Pali — same name
- Menandros in Greek — related form
Milindas among us
people named Milinda are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Milinda sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- Mindy and Linda are both available and belong to different decades.
- It is read correctly at sight and holds no surprises.
- The coincidence with the Pali text gives a curious child something genuinely interesting.
- Melinda is far commoner and the first vowel will be corrected regularly.
- The Buddhist connection is a coincidence and should not be offered as a meaning.
- It is closely dated to the middle of the last century.
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Milinda
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Milindas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,000 people named Milinda are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Milinda in 2025?
- Milinda is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Milinda with classmates?
- Milinda will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More M names
The most-given names starting with M, all years combined.
Mary#125 · Margaret#112 · Michelle#465 · Melissa#419 · Maria#87 · Martha#712 · Marie#617 · Mildred#1962
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Milinda? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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