Miley is a modern American name made famous by the singer and actress Miley Cyrus, who received it as a childhood nickname shortened from "smiley"; it is sometimes also explained as a form of the Irish surname Miley, "descendant of Maolmhuire". It was practically unknown as a given name before the Disney series Hannah Montana began in 2006. In the United States Miley jumped into the top 1000 and peaked at number 129 in 2008, fell out of the list for a few years and has come back strongly to number 338 in 2025.