Milaya is a modern American name that extends the popular Mila with the ending of Malaya and Amaya. It coincides with the Russian word milaya, meaning "dear" or "sweet", which is also the root of Mila itself. In the United States Milaya hovered between number 4000 and 9000 for a decade before jumping from number 3940 in 2024 to number 2091 in 2025, its highest rank so far.