Comments for the name Milena

Can also be Spanish or Italian. Pronounced Mee-Leh-na.

One of the most popular Bulgarian names Milena is missing as Bulgarian. Cyrillic: Милена [noted -ed]

This is my friend's name. I think it sounds pretty and exotic!

In Bulgaria "Milena" is the feminine form of "Milen". "Milan" only has the same root - "mil".

Milena originally comes from Russia, and comes from the name Ludmilla, which means "Loved by her people".

It's actually my name and I'm the only one in my family who likes my name (thank you Mom!). I like it because it's not a complicated name but yet, it's not a name you hear much except in Eastern Europe.

Milena Vukotic, Italian actress.

Milena Vukotic is Serbian in origin. Her father is from Montenegro of a once aristocratic Serbian family.

MILENA is also a Slovak name, meaning "loved one" or "sweetheart".

It's also a Polish name. [noted -ed]

From what I've always heard, in Serbia, Milena is the feminine form of Milan, and means something like "beloved". I don't know if this is really true because, even though my father was Serbian, I grew up in Brazil.

A famous bearer is Ukrainian actress Mila Kunis - 14th August 1983 Kijev, Ukraina (Киев, Украина).

It is such a beautiful name. If I could ever have the choice of changing my name - it would be to this.

Milena Jesenská, Franz Kafka's friend (mostly through letters). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milena_Jesensk%C3%A1

Though many often skim over pronunciation, the correct is MEE-LAY-NUH.

Incorrect. That is probably how an Anglophone would pronounce the name. It's pronounced Me-le-nah.

Milena Foltýnová, handball player from the Czechia (14th May 1950 - 24th December 1993).

Author Milena Kořínková-Lukešová, sister of actor and director Ladislav Kořínek-Brom.

Pronunciation is mee-LEH-nah. I live in Croatia, where this name is also used, so I know it.

Milena is also Croatian.

To the comment above, you are SO lucky to have this name! You should brag! It is such a unique and BEAUTIFUL name. And "dark" is a beautiful meaning. This has been my favorite name for years and years. I like the nicknames Mimi and Lena! This is one of the most beautiful names in the whole world. I am most likely going to be naming my first daughter this.

Not to brag but my name is Milena. I am eternally grateful for my parents for choosing this name because
1. I am partly Italian so they gave me an Italian name to honor my ancestry (I am proud of my ethnicity)
2. When they saw that I had super dark eyes they named me Milena (They had an etymology dictionary that said Milena was a form of Melanie which means "dark") It defines me.
3. They chose a unique and rare name (I know no other Milena except Mila Kunis (thank god they know her as Mila not Milena))
4. There is no diminutive (I like my full name.)

This name has nothing whatsoever to do with Melanie. Milena means loved/dear not dark and has completely different roots from Melanie.

It's a pretty name, but it sounds cold somehow. Like the name of a disaffected girl/woman. I don't know. Mila sounds friendlier, probably because Mila Kunis has always struck me as a nice person.

This name gains popularity in Russia these days.

Italian pronunciation:

Mee-LEYH-Nah

The "I" in "Mi" is stressed to "EE." "Le" equals "Leyh," or otherwise near "Lay." For "Na," the "A" is always as in the "A" found in "Father." [noted -ed]

This name is originally a Slavic name only not Italian or Spanish, however in the 20th century a Czech actress became very popular in Italy and the name Milena spread.

Very pretty name, but in America it's very likely that it would get pronounced "ma-lee-na", which isn't so pretty.