Milan (

Cyrillic The Cyrillic script ( ) is a writing system used for various languages across Eurasia. It is the designated national script in various Slavic, Turkic, Mongolic, Uralic, Caucasian and Iranic-speaking countries in Southeastern Europe, Ea ...

: 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 word obtained by modifying a root word 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, and sometimes to belittle s ...

nickname A nickname, in some circumstances also known as a sobriquet, or informally a "moniker", is an informal substitute for the proper name of a person, place, or thing, used to express affection, playfulness, contempt, or a particular character trait ...

for those whose

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

began with "Mil-". It is found in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Serbia,

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

, Croatia,

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

, Slovenia,

North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...

, Bulgaria, Poland, and Hungary. It was in the top 5 names for boys born in Serbia 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 in 2007, and seventh in

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-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, la ...

in 2009. In Persian, Milan is also a given name, meaning "desire."

Eastern European origin and use

It originates from the Old Slavic 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 like

Miloslav Miloslav is a 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 * Czech fe ...

Milomir Milomir (, , sr-cyr, Миломир) is a Slavic masculine given name, a Slavic name derived from ''milo'' "love, to like" and ''mir'' "world, peace, prestige". It may refer to: * Milomir Kovac, Serbian-German veterinary surgeon * Milomir Marić ...

, Milica, Milka, Miloš,

Milutin Milutin () is a Serbian masculine given name of Slavic origin. The name may refer to: *Stephen Uroš II Milutin of Serbia (1253–1321), king of Serbia * Milutin Bojić (1892–1917), poet * Milutin Ivković (1906–1943), footballer *Milutin Milan ...

, Miodrag, Miomir 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 There are over 250 languages indigenous to Europe, and most belong to the Indo-European language family. Out of a demographics of Europe, total European population of 744 million as of 2018, some 94% are native speakers of an Indo-European lang ...

owing to its

Ancient Roman In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...

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, Milušo,

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

, Milen, Milenko, Miletus, Mili, Milivoj, Milibor, Milidrag, Miligoj, Milija, Milijan, Milinko, Milislav, Milivoj, Milivoje, Milk, Milivojko, Miljan, Miljenko, Miljutin, Milko, Milodrag, Milogoj, Miloje, Milojko, Miloljub, Milomir, Milorad, Miloslav, Miloš, Miłosz, Bogumił, Milovan, Milun, Milutin, Miňo, Mišo
Female versions of the name: , Milanka,

Milena Milena may refer to: * ''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), a 1991 ...

, Milica, 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

Czechs and Slovaks

Milan Baroš Milan Baroš (; born 28 October 1981) is a Czech former professional footballer who played as a forward. In 2005, he was part of the Liverpool team which won the UEFA Champions League. He went on to win Ligue 1 with Lyon in 2007, the FA Cup w ...

(born 1981), Czech footballer *

Milan Ftáčnik Milan Ftáčnik (30 October 1956 – 13 May 2021) was a Slovak politician, Minister of Education of the Slovak Republic from 1998 to 2002 and Mayor of Bratislava from 2010 to 2014. Prior to this he was also Mayor of Petržalka from 2006 to 20 ...

(1956–2021), Slovak politician * Milan Havel (born 1994), Czech footballer * Milan Hejduk (born 1976), Czech ice hockey player * Milan Hodža (1878–1944), Slovak politician, Prime Minister of Czechoslovakia * Milan Karlíček (born 1981), Czech ice hockey player * Milan Karvaš (1932–2024), Slovak chemist *

Milan Kundera Milan Kundera ( ; ; 1 April 1929 – 11 July 2023) was a Czech and French novelist. Kundera went into exile in France in 1975, acquiring citizenship in 1981. His Czechoslovak citizenship was revoked in 1979, but he was granted Czech citizenship ...

(1929–2023), Czech writer * Milan Máčala (born 1943), Czech football coach * Milan Machovec (1925–2003), Czech philosopher * Milan Michálek (born 1984), Czech ice hockey player * Milan Rúfus (1928–2009), Slovak poet * Milan Šašik (1952–2020), Slovak bishop * Milan Škriniar (born 1995), Slovak footballer * Milan Rastislav Štefánik (1880–1917), Slovak politician and astronomer * Milan Šufflay (1879–1931), Croatian historian and politician * Milan Urbáni (1944–2024), Slovak politician * Milan Vaclavik (1928–2007), Slovak military general and defense minister

South Slavs

* Milan I of Serbia (1854–1901), Prince of Serbia and later King of Serbia * Milan Aleksić (born 1986), Serbian water polo player * Milan Balažic (born 1958), Slovene politician and diplomat * Milan Biševac (born 1983), Serbian footballer * Milan Begović (1876–1948), Croatian writer * Milan Jovanović (strongman) (born 1970), Serbian powerlifter *

Milan Jovanović (footballer, born 1981) Milan Jovanović ( sr-Cyrl, Милан Јовановић; born 18 April 1981) is a Serbian former professional footballer who played as a forward or winger. He began his career with FK Vojvodina and had brief spells at Shakhtar Donetsk ...

, Serbian footballer *

Milan Jovanović (footballer, born July 1983) Milan Jovanović (Serbian Cyrillic: Милан Јовановић, ; born 21 July 1983), also known locally as ''Mrva'', is a Montenegro, Montenegrin retired Association football, footballer. In international competition he has represented Monte ...

, Montenegrin footballer * Milan Jovanović (footballer, born October 1983), Serbian footballer * Milan Jovanović (handballer) (born 1998), Serbian handball player * Milan Kangrga (1923–2008), Croatian philosopher * Milan Komar (1921–2006), Slovene-Argentine philosopher *

Milan Kučan Milan Kučan (; born 14 January 1941) is a Slovenian former politician who served as the first President of Slovenia from 1991 to 2002. Before being president of Slovenia, he was the 13th President of Slovenia#Socialist Republic of Slovenia, Pres ...

(born 1941), President of Slovenia *

Milan Mačvan Milan Mačvan (; born 16 November 1989) is a Serbian politician and former professional basketball player serving as the deputy mayor of Šabac since 19 January 2024. Standing at , he played at the power forward position. He also represented the ...

(born 1989), Serbian basketball player * Milan Mladenović (1958–1994), Serbian musician *

Milan Nedić Milan Nedić ( sr-Cyrl, Милан Недић; 2 September 1878 – 4 February 1946) was a Yugoslav and Serbian army general and politician who served as the Chief of the General Staff of the Royal Yugoslav Army and minister of war in the ...

(1878–1946), Prime Minister of Nazi-occupied Serbia * Milan Obrenović II (1819–1839), Prince of Serbia * Milan Pogačnik (born 1946), Slovenian politician * Milan Rapaić (born 1973), Croatian footballer * Milan Rešetar (1860–1942), Serbian linguist and historian * Milan Ristovski (born 1998), Macedonian footballer * Milan Stanković (born 1987), Serbian singer *

Milan Vidmar Milan Vidmar (; 22 June 1885 – 9 October 1962) was a Slovenian electrical engineer, chess player, chess theorist, and writer. He was among the top dozen chess players in the world from 1910 to 1930 and in 1950, was among the inaugural recip ...

(1885–1962), Slovene engineer, chess player and philosopher

Other

* Milan (art director) (–2023), Indian film art director * Milan Acquaah (born 1997), American basketball player * Milán Füst (1888–1967), Hungarian writer * Milan Jayathilaka (born 1981), Sri Lankan politician * Milan Luthria (born 1968), Indian film director *

Milan Lucic Milan Lucic (; born June 7, 1988) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player who is an unrestricted free agent. He most recently played for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL). He played major junior career with the Vancouver ...

(born 1988), Canadian hockey player * Milan Puskar (1934–2011), American entrepreneur * Milan the Leather Boy (1941–1971), American record producer and songwriter

Fictional characters

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

Notes

External links

{{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