Miley
Meaning of Miley
Within the field of contemporary onomastics, Miley is best understood as a modern American coinage, first publicized through the childhood sobriquet of singer-actress Destiny Hope “Miley” Cyrus, whose family shortened the word “smiley” to form the name; as a result, Miley carries an implicit connotation of cheerfulness while remaining etymologically separate from the traditional Mary–Margaret diminutive stream. Social Security Administration records confirm the catalytic effect of this pop-cultural exposure: after negligible use for most of the twentieth century, Miley entered the U.S. top-1000 in 2002, climbed rapidly to rank 127 by 2008 at the height of the Hannah Montana franchise, and has since moderated to rank 347 in 2024, when 813 girls received the designation. Phonetically rendered as MY-lee (/ˌmaɪli/), the name fits the prevailing Anglo-American preference for compact, bisyllabic forms ending in the bright front vowel /i/, yet its relative novelty affords an impression of individuality. Functionally, it aligns with peers such as Kylie, Riley, and Hailey, situating Miley within the broader early-twenty-first-century trend toward fluid consonant-liquid-vowel sequences for girls’ names while retaining a distinct cultural association with optimism and modern celebrity.
Pronunciation
American English
- Pronunced as MY-lee (/ˌmaɪli/)
U.S. Popularity Chart
States Popularity Chart
Notable People Named Miley
| Miley Cyrus is an American singer and actress who gained fame as a teen idol on Hannah Montana and has since evolved into a successful adult entertainer. |
