This post was originally published on June 22, 2012. It was substantially revised and re-posted on October 12, 2015.
Take the popular Lily and add an M. Mix in our affection for names like Hattie and Sadie, and it is easy to imagine Millie catching on.
It’s already happened in the UK. In the US, Millie re-entered the US Top 1000 as an independent name in 2009, and has climbed to #505 in the last few years.
But does Millie require a formal name? And if so, which formal names for Millie are the most wearable?
Read on for some possibilities!
Formal Names for Millie: Most Popular
Amelia – As nickname potential goes, Amelia rivals even Elizabeth and Katherine. There’s Mia and Amy and Mila, too. And why not Millie? Along the same lines, Millie could be short for Amelie or Emilia, or even Emily. Amelia ranked #15 in 2014.
Camila, Camilla, Camille – There are other ends-in-mil names, but not all are English language-friendly. Ludmilla seems a bit clunky for an American playground. Camille and Camilla and Camila, on the other hand, have literary and mythological roots, as well as a stylish sound. If the sweetly vintage Millie doesn’t suit, boyish Cam is also available. Camila ranked #41 in the US in 2014.
Formal Names for Millie: Farther Up the Charts
Emmeline – The spelling isn’t exactly there, but the sounds suggests that Millie would work as a short form. Emmeline returned to the US Top 1000 for the first time in recent years in 2014, ranking #907. Emmalyn ranked #464 and Emmalynn ranked #770.
Matilda – The obvious short forms are Mattie and Tillie, but Millie follows logically, too. Given all of the girls answering to Maddie, going a different route makes sense. Matilda ranked #582 in 2014.
Melissa – Eager to pass on Melissa to honor a sister or a friend, but reluctant to duplicate names? Millie could work as an unexpected nickname – if a completely unexpected one. It’s definitely more modern than Missy.
Milagros – One of the titles of the Virgin Mary in Spanish is Our Lady of Miracles – Milagros. The first syllable makes Millie a natural nickname, though I’m not sure how Millie would be perceived as a name amongst Spanish speakers today.
Milan – Looking for a place name possibility that’s less common than London? How about Milan, as in the Italian fashion capital. It’s also a masculine name, from the Slavic word for dear. Shakira’s son wears the name. Milan ranked #410 for boys and #667 for girls in 2014.
Milana, Milania – Ready for two more names that currently rank in the 700s in the US? Milana and Milania are both gaining in use. Milania could come from the same root as Milan, or it might be yet another spin on Melanie/Melania/Milena. Milana has a similar story.
Milena – A cousin to the very popular Mila, Milena sounds like an elaboration, but has a history of independent use. Similar names are used in Czech, Serbian, and Bulgarian. Milena ranked #797 in 2014.
Yamilet, Yamileth – In Latin America, the Arabic Jamila – beautiful – became Yamliet and Yamileth. If you’re after a Spanish language name that is familiar in the US and shortens to something that feels conventionally English, this would be a quirky and unexpected possibility. Yamileth ranked #792 in 2014.
Formal Names for Millie: Rarities
Melisande – The medieval Melisande is a big name for a small child, but Millie makes her quite wearable.
Marilla – Any Anne of Green Gables fans? Marilla could come from the botanical Amaryllis – possibly another long shot way to get to Millie. It can also be a form of the classic Mary.
Mildred, Mildrid – I know. Mildred seems impossibly fusty. But take a peek at this nursery tour from Ohdeedoh. With parents named Vlad and Jurgita, it is a safe bet that they didn’t feel confined to the US Top 100 when choosing a name. But Mildrid is quite the risk, and I’m surprised at how well she holds up.
Milla – If Mila rhymes with Selah, then Milla rhymes with Willa – or does it? There’s room for debate on this one, but Milla is the simplest way to transform Millie into a more traditional name.
Miller – Considering passing down this family surname to a daughter, but fret that she’ll be teased forevermore? Millie softens up Miller, or any other surname with the syllable Mil.
Millicent – There’s something sweet and lady-like about Millicent, a name that conjures up images of little girls in spotless white pinafores. Millie energizes the name. While it’s too soon to say that Millicent is back, the name was recently spotted in a stylish NYC suburb, and the numbers suggest that Millicent could be a successor to Abigail and Charlotte.
Pomeline – Like Emmeline, the sound is there, even if the letters don’t quite line up.
Wilhelmina – A regal, Germanic feminine form of the evergreen William, Wilhelmina screams to be shortened. If Billie feels too boyish and Minnie too mouse, why not Millie?
What do you think of Millie? If you’re in the US, is this name still too grandma to consider? If you’re elsewhere in the English-speaking world, is Millie too popular? Which longer forms would you consider, or does Millie stand on her own?
What about Melanie? Could that work?
It can be a ‘Millie’ name AND an ‘Annie’ name!!
I’m partial to Matilda and Romilly as formal ways to get to Millie.
Love love love this list! Eniko is another one i like, It’s Hungarian I believe.
oops i meant to comment this on the O ending Girl names post! Thats what happens when you have too many AppMtn tabs open haha 🙂
abbey I don’t understand how mila rhymes with Selah? I say say- lah and mee-luh which am I getting wrong?
I’m not a big fan of Millie myself but I see the appeal.
With the original pronunciation, I’d agree, but for some reason the usual American pronunciation of Selah is SEE-luh.
Millie is very popular in Australia, both on its own and as a nn for Amelia and Emily.
My daughter’s middle name is Miliani. It’s Hawaiian & means “gentle caress”. 🙂
Lovely name, Angela!
How about Milborough for a girl? I could see Milly for a child and Milborough, which has some weight and seriousness for an adult. Thoughts?
My daughter is Amelia, but is called Millie 99.5% of the time. It fits her perfectly, and while I have met an Amelia or two (although not as many as you would think!), I’ve never met a little one named Millie. We get a lot of compliments on her name, and she’s such an old soul even at two, it suits her well.
My -mil- list:
Aemilia, Aemiliana, Aemiliane, Aemilianna, Aemilianne, Aemilienne, Amilcara, Amilda, Amilde, Amilia, Amiliana, Bogomila, Bogumila, Bohumila, Bratumila, Camila, Camilia, Camilla, Camille, Camillia, Carmil, Djamila, Djamilla, Djemila, Djemilla, Dobromila, Eemila, Emila, Emilda, Emilia, Emiliana, Emiliane, Emilianna, Emilianne, Emilie, Emilienne, Emilija, Emiline, Emiliya, Emily, Famila, Gamila, Gamili, Gamilla, Hamila, Hamilcara, Jamila, Jamilla, Jamille, Jamilya, Jaromila, Jemila, Jemilla, Jemille, Kamila, Kamile, Kamili, Kamilia, Kamilla, Kamille, Karmil, Kemila, Kemilla, Kemille, Ljudmila, Ludmila, Ludmilla, Lyudmila, Maksimiliana, Maksymiliana, Massimiliana, Maximiliana, Maximiliane, Maximilianna, Maximilianne, Maximilienne, Maximilliana, Maxmiliana, Mila, Milada, Milagros, Milalaia, Milalaya, Milana, Milane, Milanka, Milburga, Milca, Milcha, Milda, Mildburg, Mildgyth, Mildred, Mildthryth, Milena, Milene, Milenka, Milet, Milia, Milica, Militsa, Milivoja, Miljenka, Milka, Milla, Millaray, Millicent, Milochka, Milogosta, Milorada, Miloslava, Miloslawa, Milska, Milvi, Olufunmilayo, Olufunmilola, Oluwafunmilayo, Pamila, Radmila, Radomila, Ramila, Ramilya, Romilda, Romilia, Samila, Shamila, Sharmila, Shmila, Smiljana, Smilte, Tamila, Tamilla, Thamila, Vlastimila, Yamila, Zemila
I don’t get why Emily is a more difficult to get way it is my nickname after my great aunt Mildred who was called Milly in her childhood and it is also her daughters middle Deborah Milly-Anne and I was Emily and I also got her middle name Mary and her sisters name Jane.
I love Millie/Milly. My favorite route at the moment is through Emilia, but I think Mirabel/le also works, no?
I just wanted to give you a heads up that the Sadie’s Sisters post you linked to at the top has disappeared. The commentary is still there, but the substance of the post is gone!
Hi just heard the name Milgrey and I thought it was so different and would produce the nickmame Millie 🙂
I really like the option of Romilda. Romy or Millie are cute options and Harry Potter fans will approve. Or the word Millifleur, meaning thousands of flowers, has nice imagery.
Millifleur – that’s a daring idea, but it would work!
My cousin has a daughter named Millie-just Millie. While I like the idea of a longer name, her other two children are Jude (boy) and Tessa, so a longer name would have stood out among her siblings. It’s a sweet name-but always seems a bit sassy as well, as my little cousin is a drama queen.
I like Millie, and i like her just fine on her own. I do like most of your suggestions of long forms to get there. Mildred, Millicent, even Matilda, etc. I see nothing wrong with going with the sweet and fun Millie (no long form), the obvious Camilla nicknamed Millie, or the less obvious Emmeline nicknamed Millie. A nickname does not have to exactly mirror the formal name. Mary’s nickname is Molly or Mollie. Jacob’s is Jake. Eleanor or Ellen can give you Nelll. So it’s fine for Matilda to yield Millie or for Melissa to etc. Millie or Milly, I like both.
I am a Emily nicknamed Milly and I am named after a great aunt named Mildred who died 4 years before I was born and her dying wish was to have a grand-something called Milly she got 2 me and my cousin Lucinda Mildred.
I’m a 28 year old Millie and I love my name! I’m christened Camilla and have always been called Camilla by my parents- but I’m Millie to everyone else… and have never had any problems with it.
Love Mildred and Millicent too…
I’m a teacher over here in the UK and there are lots of little Millies starting school… in fact I fear it may become too popular over here- sad!
I know many, many little girls named Millie here in the UK, and plenty of ’em have sisters called Maisie. It’s a cute name, and I once loved it.
Millie is a cute name, but I do think it needs a fuller form. My favorite is Millicent; I fell in love with that name as a child, when I read Robert Munsch’s “Millicent and the Wind”. I think I love Millicent so much I would rarely call her Millie 🙂
I was surprised to read here that Mila rhymes with Selah. Our friend’s daughter is Selah and it is pronounced SAY-la. I have also heard it said Say-LA, when read from the Bible. In general, the letter “e” is pronounced with an “ey” sound in many other languages (including Hebrew, which is Selah’s origin), as in “obey”. To get an “ee” sound, it’d be spelled with an ‘i’. Anyways, slightly off topic, but I wanted to give the correct pronunciation of Selah 🙂 It is a beautiful name!
I do like Millicent from this list!
Romilly is on my short list for a little girl, and I think it would be a natural if you want the nickname “Millie.” (Personally, I’d probably go with Ro or Romy instead, but I do like Millie too).
How strange to find oneself mentioned on the Internet! (Hi, friend!) Strangely enough, I stopped in wondering if Mildred had been covered here, yet–good timing, that.
Anyway, Mum wasn’t a fan of Millie, so I don’t think it’s ever been used for either of us. I don’t mind it, but Melina and I have a lot of mutual friends, and being known as either Emily and Millie or Millie and Melina blurs the lines between just a little too much. (-:
Hi Emily! I did wonder if you’d read my comment :o) I do think your parents had great naming taste when giving you girls names. I’m glad neither of you goes by a nickname, particularly Millie. We’re more of a full-given-name family ourselves.
Oh, and I hope you don’t mind the mention. I couldn’t resist.
I know someone named Milena; she’s the younger sister of an Emily and I’ve always enjoyed how the two sisters’ names were very distinct while still containing similar elements (Emily was named at least a decade before the name hit its boom in the mid-90s). Neither goes by Millie, but I thought I’d mention the duo since Milena popped up in this article.
As always, thanks for a great read!
Oh, I really like Millie and would use it intermittenly with Pom, for Pomeline or as a main nickname for Mathilda. Wilhelmina would get Mina from us, Dracula/vampire fans. 😀
But Pomeline still lingers on my list as a sister for Josephine. Maybe I’ll end up with a granddaughter named Pomeline, since both my boys know of my love of Pomeline. You never know! 😀
I babysat for an Emily who was called Milly by her baby brother. The nickname didn’t stick past her brother’s babyhood, but it’s a more captivating nickname than Em or Emmie.
Michaela and Michelle could also work as long forms for Milly.
I come at this from the opposite direction. I like the names Matilda and Amelia, but would never use them on the off chance my daughter may want to be called Millie.
I come at this from the opposite direction. I like the names Matilda and Amelia, but would never use them on the off chance my daughter may want to be called Millie.
My mom’s name is Milda, she went by Millie when she was in highschool. She always tells me and my sisters that we should never name a child after her. She hates her name. However she has always liked the name Amelia and contemplated naming my youngest sister this. Personally I prefer Emilia. Matilda would be a bit of a stretch but I think it would be an acceptable way for me to honor my mom. From your list I really like Camille, Marilla, & Melisande/Millicent.
I know a Millie whose full name is Milagros (spanish for “miracle”). I think my favorite from this list is Milena- sweet, not common, and easy to pronounce.
Five years ago, this was one of my favorite names. If my son was a girl, he would have been Matilda/Millie. I still like Millie, but it doesn’t appeal to me quite as much. I’ve moved on to Maud(e). Millie is my favorite nickname for Amelia, which is lovely but too popular for me.
Also, could Millie be plausable as a nickname for Madeleine? I’m rather fond of Minnie as Madeleine’s nickname, but the husband finds it too mousy. Maddie is entirely too ubiquitous.
This is our plan if we choose Madeleine for the next girl. I’ve never really like Maddie/Maddy as a nickname. Our other thoughts on nn’s for Madeleine are Della, Linnie, and Mae.
Millie is rather a sweet nickname. I especially like it as such for Emmeline, Matilda, Mildred, Millicent, and Wilhelmina.
Many of the Mel- names work: Melinda, Melanie, although I might lean towards Melie instead of Millie, to avoid the “Silly Millie” comments.
Although I’m pretty much indifferent on my opinion of Millie I do have it in mind as a possible nickname for Amelia or Camille (two names on my favorites list). I didn’t think of it at first, but I also like Abby’s idea of Melissa as another full-name route.
Oh. My. Gosh. Perfect! I love the nn Millie but usually get hung up on Millicent, which I love, but is way too close to Maleficent of Disney fame. I would have never thought of Amelia, Marilla (though if we’re naming for characters, I’d go for Anne or Diana first.) or Melisande (which the fh hates but I lurve)!