Mia Name Meaning

Mia is a diminutive form of many names, including Maria and its variants, but today Mia stands on its own as a fresh, evocative girl’s name. In Danish, it means “beloved,” and in Italian it’s associated with the word for “mine.” For those of Jewish descent, it’s a short form of the name Miriam. Across the board she’s beloved just like your little one will be.

Mia is a short, spunky choice brewing with character despite her tiny frame. She stands on her own two feet just like her dear friend Ava, strutting her stuff among the fluffier names in the room. A little Mia is sweet as pie but feisty as can be, making her presence known.

Mia has been growing in popularity since the 1960s, finally cracking the Top Names in the 2000s. If you name your daughter Mia, she’ll be in good company. In addition to actresses and singers, it’s even the name of Princess Anne’s granddaughter, Mia Tindell.

Mia is also free of nicknames for the most part, with Mimi the only likely option for parents. This limited selection makes avoiding any unwanted nicknames simple. Similar names include the edgier Gia and the softer Leah. If you’re looking a little longer, there’s always Amelia with the nickname of Mia.

Infographic of Mia name meaning, which is Mia is a diminutive form of Maria as well as a common word in many languages including dear in Italian and mine in Spanish.
Ask your friends & family about Mia…

Mia Name Popularity

How popular is the name Mia? Here’s everything we know.

Year Rank # Births % Births
1910 — 0 0%
1911 — 0 0%
1912 — 0 0%
1913 — 0 0%
1914 — 0 0%
1915 — 0 0%
1916 — 0 0%
1917 — 0 0%
1918 — 0 0%
1919 — 0 0%
1920 — 0 0%
1921 — 0 0%
1922 — 0 0%
1923 — 0 0%
1924 — 0 0%
1925 — 0 0%
1926 — 0 0%
1927 — 0 0%
1928 — 0 0%
1929 — 0 0%
1930 — 0 0%
1931 — 0 0%
1932 — 0 0%
1933 — 0 0%
1934 — 0 0%
1935 — 0 0%
1936 — 0 0%
1937 — 0 0%
1938 — 0 0%
1939 — 0 0%
1940 — 0 0%
1941 — 0 0%
1942 — 0 0%
1943 — 0 0%
1944 — 0 0%
1945 — 0 0%
1946 — 0 0%
1947 — 0 0%
1948 — 0 0%
1949 — 0 0%
1950 — 0 0%
1951 1,977 5 0.0003%
1952 1,665 8 0.0005%
1953 1,937 5 0.0003%
1954 1,394 17 0.0009%
1955 1,602 12 0.0007%
1956 2,095 5 0.0003%
1957 1,559 14 0.0007%
1958 — 0 0%
1959 1,493 18 0.0009%
1960 1,473 20 0.0011%
1961 1,810 11 0.0006%
1962 1,240 37 0.002%
1963 1,066 56 0.0031%
1964 562 265 0.0151%
1965 265 1,034 0.0632%
1966 329 681 0.0436%
1967 319 708 0.0467%
1968 338 631 0.042%
1969 454 410 0.0266%
1970 440 461 0.029%
1971 434 442 0.0294%
1972 453 371 0.0272%
1973 505 298 0.023%
1974 460 349 0.0269%
1975 503 314 0.0244%
1976 498 320 0.0248%
1977 446 406 0.0301%
1978 400 479 0.0356%
1979 363 582 0.0413%
1980 349 649 0.0444%
1981 333 678 0.0461%
1982 415 514 0.0344%
1983 440 431 0.0292%
1984 456 408 0.0274%
1985 436 461 0.0304%
1986 441 446 0.0295%
1987 411 506 0.0332%
1988 381 589 0.0378%
1989 387 616 0.0382%
1990 347 735 0.0443%
1991 337 741 0.0455%
1992 328 790 0.0495%
1993 331 759 0.0487%
1994 313 832 0.0542%
1995 254 1,078 0.0715%
1996 179 1,665 0.1112%
1997 129 2,478 0.1675%
1998 131 2,551 0.1704%
1999 120 2,720 0.1816%
2000 94 3,439 0.2251%
2001 76 3,915 0.2598%
2002 43 6,253 0.4173%
2003 36 7,081 0.4654%
2004 30 7,393 0.4851%
2005 17 10,843 0.7092%
2006 13 12,024 0.7679%
2007 15 10,915 0.6918%
2008 14 10,168 0.6579%
2009 10 11,423 0.7643%
2010 10 10,637 0.7381%
2011 9 11,527 0.8091%
2012 8 12,019 0.8434%
2013 6 13,147 0.9234%
2014 6 13,506 0.927%
2015 6 14,892 1.0235%
2016 6 14,415 0.9998%
2017 6 13,437 0.9627%
2018 7 12,642 0.9202%
2019 8 12,414 0.917%
2020 8 11,062 0.8691%
2021 8 10,224 0.8364%
2022 8 11,018 0.8352%

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Hawaii (HI)

Iowa (IA)

Idaho (ID)

Illinois (IL)

Indiana (IN)

Kansas (KS)

Kentucky (KY)

Louisiana (LA)

Massachusetts (MA)

Maryland (MD)

Maine (ME)

Michigan (MI)

Minnesota (MN)

Missouri (MO)

Mississippi (MS)

Montana (MT)

North Carolina (NC)

North Dakota (ND)

Nebraska (NE)

New Hampshire (NH)

New Jersey (NJ)

New Mexico (NM)

Nevada (NV)

New York (NY)

Ohio (OH)

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West Virginia (WV)

Wyoming (WY)

Data via SSA.gov.

Names Like Mia

If you like Mia, you’ll love these other names like Mia.

What names are diminutives of Mia?

A diminutive is a name that’s like Mia sounds, you might also like these names that sound like Mia, but shorter.

Name Meaning Origin Popularity Other Gender
Mimi

A diminutive form of Miriam and, through the French, of Wilhelmina.

French

What names are variants of Mia?

Mix it up with these names that are a variation of the name Mia.

Name Meaning Origin Popularity Other Gender
Maria

Of the sea

Latin

Mea

Scandinavian

Meya

Scandinavian

What names sound like Mia?

If you like how Mia sounds, you might also like these names that sound like Mia.

Name Meaning Origin Popularity Other Gender
Maia

Great; mother

Greek

Maya

Dream

Indian (Sanskrit)

Miah

Spanish

Moia

Great; mother

Greek

Mya

Dream

Indian (Sanskrit)

Nia

Lustrous; goal, purpose

African

What names are similar to Mia?

Find a name that’s like Mia, but just a little bit different.

Name Meaning Origin Popularity Other Gender
Ava

To live

Latin

Bella

Beautiful one

Italian

Daisy

Daisy flower

English

Emma

Whole or universal

German

Emmy

Rival

German

Evie

Life

English

Isla

Island

Scottish

Luna

The moon

Latin

Mara

Bitter

Hebrew

Natalie

Christmas Day

French

Lists With Mia

Find inspiration in these baby girl name lists featuring the name Mia.

Siblings of Mia

Mamas with kids named Mia also have kids with these names.

Name Meaning Origin Popularity Other Gender
Aysha

Alive and well

Arabic

19 Comments

  1. Simple and feminine

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  2. It was short and girly.

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  3. I went into early labour at 34 weeks and 3 days and we still hadn’t settled on a name. When she made her appearance in the world during my emergency C-Section my husband said the name came to him immediately. And that was that.

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  4. ????

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  5. My first daughter is Ava so I liked Mia because I am attracted to 3 letter names that end in A. I don’t have to come up with a nickname

    Reply

  6. I like this name because my name is Mia ?

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  7. I don’t really have nothing to say than I just love the name so much

    Reply

  8. I choose Mia as her name because it’s mean the chosen, and I like that name because sounds very sweet

    Reply

  9. What I love about the name Mia is that I can be used in a variety of languages, easy to pronounce and easy to spell. It is also classically beautiful!

    Reply

  10. Mia sasha is my first born daughter on her age of 13 1/2 yrs old coming to 14 on the 03 October . Tq for giving me the chances to get to abt my daughter name through the meaning of mia … I am very grateful… And glad to finally know through the of Mia.. it’s makes me set a tears bcos it’s sound very sweetest as a pie .. tq??

    Reply

  11. I chose Mia because it’s pretty and I always wanted a daughter called Mia also I changed her name so many times and fell in love with Mia

    Reply

  12. I’ve always loved the name Mia. My husband’s family actually referred to their great grandmother as Mia. She was 97 when we found out we were expecting and it seemed perfect to name her after her great great grandmother. The day after our little Mia arrived, her great great grandmother Mia passed, and we knew we had made the right decision.

    Reply

  13. my husbands name starts with a M in Spanish I (&) and my first letter of my name is A, so that’s why I chose Mia, I love that her middle name is Angela and so together when you say it in Spanish it’s My Angela. I don’t like that Mia is Mine in Spanish lol but that’s ok because she really is my angel ?

    Reply

    • Awe… My Angel… How precious. My granddaughter is Mia Amor which said together sounds like Mi Amor which is Spanish for my love and she for sure my love?

      Reply

  14. 1-I chose that name (Mia)because its means “Mines” in English .
    2- I like Everything about the name. I dislike nothing.
    3- its a beautiful and short name ?????

    Reply

  15. The one that choose her name was my husband when he told me why he wanted Mia and what it meant I agreed with the name.

    Reply

  16. I chose my daughters name simply because I wanted to name my first born daughter after me but her be her own person.

    Reply

  17. DAD CHOSE THIS NAME.

    Reply

  18. I absolutely love the name Mia we make up a ton of songs to sing and it’s easy to spell! Double win!

    Reply

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