Miley (given name)

Miley
The name Miley first appeared on popularity charts following the rise to fame of singer-songwriter and actress Miley Cyrus
PronunciationMy-lee
GenderFemale
Other names
Related namesMaile, Milee, Mileigh, Mylee, Myleigh, Mylie

Miley (/maɪli/ MY-lee) is a feminine given name. It first entered the top 1,000 names used for newborn girls in the United States in 2007 and has continued to be well used. Spelling variants of the name in use include, among others, Milee, Mileigh, Mylee, Myleigh, and Mylie.[1] Its popularity is attributed to the fame of singer-songwriter and actress Miley Cyrus (born Destiny Hope Cyrus), whose name originated as a childhood nickname given to her by her father because she was so "smiley".[2][3] Cyrus starred as Miley Stewart on the Disney Channel sitcom Hannah Montana.

The popularity of the name also coincided with similar sounding names that also became fashionable for girls in the English-speaking world in the late 20th and early 21st centuries such as Kylie and Riley.[4] [5] The name continues to rank among the top 1,000 names given to newborn American girls and usage has continued to increase. [6]

Miley was also used as a masculine given name for a character named Miley Byrne played by Mick Lally in the Irish drama series Glenroe.

  1. ^ Social Security Administration
  2. ^ "2007 Baby Names" UC (Upper Cumberland, Tennessee) Daily News.com. 5-17-2008. Archived 2008-05-20 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ "Miley Cyrus is Officially Miley Cyrus." OK! Magazine. 5-1-2008.
  4. ^ "Popular Baby Names". Archived from the original on 2018-02-02. Retrieved 2022-02-14.
  5. ^ Rauwerda, Anne (10 November 2021). "Haileigh and Beighleigh and Paisleigh, oh my!". michigandaily.com. Michigan Daily. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  6. ^ "Names that increased in popularity from 2021 to 2022". ssa.gov. United States Social Security Administration. 12 May 2023. Retrieved 12 May 2023.