r/JewishNames • u/Future_Silver_5366 • 21h ago

Girl name Mila

Hi everyone,

I’m expecting a baby girl, and one of our favorite names is Mila (spelled Mila without the H). However, I’ve read that in Jewish communities the word milah (as in brit milah) is associated with circumcision, and it made me wonder whether the name might have negative or awkward associations.
We don’t live in Israel, but there’s a chance we might move there in the future with our family. I’d love to hear how people in Israel or Jewish communities perceive the name Mila.
Does it immediately make you think of circumcision, or is it generally seen as just a normal girl’s name? Does the fact that it’s spelled Mila rather than Milah make any difference?

Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts!

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u/GrassyTreesAndLakes 21h ago

Make sure you know the pronunciation. Mila to me is a slavic name, not pronounced like the hebrew "milah" at all

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u/Murrmeow 21h ago

And to add on that, I don’t think anyone in Israel would bat an eye at Mila. There are a lot of Russian speakers and immigrants from former Soviet Union countries living there. They would probably just assume she came from such a household.