Fun Facts About the Name Mio
- 459 babies named Mio: U.S. records list 459 babies given the name Mio from 1880 through 2025. Even 111 boys received the name Mio - about 1 boy for every 3 girls.
What Does the Name Mio Mean?
Mio is mainly a Japanese given name, and in Japanese the meaning of a name comes from the kanji chosen to write it, so Mio has several established meanings rather than one fixed definition. The first element is usually mi 美, "beauty," and a frequent spelling is 美緒, combining 美 with 緒, "thread," "cord," or "beginning." Other common writings are 美桜 ("beautiful cherry blossom," with 桜 "cherry tree"), 美央 (央 "center"), and 美音 (音 "sound"). Written with the single character 澪, mio is a native Japanese noun for a waterway or channel and for the wake a boat leaves; that sense appears in the classical term miotsukushi 澪標, a marker post in a channel. A separate line of meaning comes from Chinese: 未央, Wèiyāng, joins 未 "not yet" to 央 "middle, end," and was the name of the Weiyang Palace 未央宮 of the Han dynasty. In Sweden and Denmark, Mio is also used as a male given name, but no clear etymology is documented for that use, so it is best treated apart from the Japanese name.
Mio Name History & Origins
The element 澪 is recorded in older Japanese writing. Chapter 14 of The Tale of Genji, composed in the early eleventh century, is titled "Miotsukushi" (澪標, "Channel Buoys"), after the marker posts that guided boats through shallow water; the title also plays on 身を尽くし (mi o tsukushi), "exhausting oneself," which sounds the same as 澪標. The character pair 未央 comes from Chinese: the line 夜未央, "the night is not yet half over," appears in the Shijing (Classic of Songs), and 未央宮, the Weiyang Palace, was the main palace of the Western Han capital Chang'an. As a Japanese personal name, Mio belongs to the large group of given names whose sound is fixed by the characters a family selects, so the same sound can stand for unrelated written names.
In Sweden and Denmark, Mio is used as a male given name. It is closely associated with Astrid Lindgren's 1954 children's book Mio, min Mio (published in English as Mio, My Son), whose main character is a boy named Mio. How the Nordic name relates to that literary use, and whether it has any other line of development, is not clearly documented.
How Popular is the Name Mio?
Mio has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 2020. Its best rank was #5,786 in 2020.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #7,383 | 15 | 0.0009% |
| 2024 | #6,823 | 17 | 0.0011% |
| 2023 | #8,343 | 13 | 0.0008% |
| 2022 | #10,164 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 2021 | #7,896 | 14 | 0.0009% |
| 2020 | #5,786 | 21 | 0.0013% |
| 2019 | #9,537 | 11 | 0.0007% |
| 2018 | #8,462 | 13 | 0.0008% |
| 2017 | #7,718 | 15 | 0.0009% |
| 2016 | #7,869 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 2015 | #7,877 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 2014 | #8,361 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 2013 | #8,904 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 2012 | #8,501 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 2011 | #8,487 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 2010 | #6,817 | 19 | 0.0011% |
| 2009 | #8,749 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 2008 | #11,338 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 2007 | #8,862 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 2006 | #12,104 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2005 | #12,641 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 2004 | #13,738 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2003 | #8,889 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 2001 | #13,008 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2000 | #14,418 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1999 | #16,056 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1997 | #13,191 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1996 | #11,387 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1990 | #14,446 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1988 | #13,153 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #10,339 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2023 | #10,422 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2022 | #6,365 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 2021 | #7,959 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 2020 | #11,527 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2019 | #8,011 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 2018 | #8,607 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2017 | #8,606 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2016 | #9,409 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 2015 | #10,256 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2013 | #10,363 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2010 | #13,612 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2009 | #10,620 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2007 | #13,743 | 5 | 0.0002% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Mio Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You have psychic power. You can carry on for others with joy. You have a receptive nature and may bear burdens for others. You are pragmatic, thorough, strong-willed, practical and stubborn at times. You are hard working, often martyr to duty. You like home and security above all. You are intuitive and might be interested in the arts, drama or science.
You are always looking for a chance to do your own thing, to be your own person, and to have things done your own way.
✦ Mio's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Mio's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.