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ETYMOLOGY, ORIGIN & HISTORY:

Mia (pronounced MEE-ah), is a popular girl's name of Israeli (short form of Michal), Latin, and Scandinavian (short form of Maria) origin. In its Hebrew and Scandinavian form, the name Mia means "a bitterly wanted child." In its Latin form, it means "Mine." The name has two variant forms, Mea and Meya.

POPULARITY AND FASCINATING FACTS

In 1996, the name Mia was ranked 180th in the U.S. in popularity. Ten years later, in 2006, the name had climbed to 13th. Between 1996 and 2006, the name has continued to rise in popularity every year, with the exception of 1998 when it dropped to 134th place from the prior year, 1997, when it was 130th. Perhaps the rise in popularity of this name could be associated with successful soccer superstar Mia Hamm, or model Mia Tyler, daughter of famed Aerosmith rocker Steven Tyler.

According to http://www.names.yuly.ru/femal e-i-name-37796.htm, "baby name numerologly," the number representing the name Mia is "5." This name may be associated with impatient, nervous people who are known to take on more than they can handle. Interestingly, this name is also associated with arrogance and selfishness, as those whoe bear this name might often put their own needs above those of others.

NAMESAKES

MIA is an often-used acronym for "Missing in Action," which describes a "combatant who has not returned from war and is unaccounted for." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ MIA)

MIA is also the IATA airport code for Miami International Airport

Apparantly, MIA is a popular name for musicians and artists, as there are quite a few that use variations of the word and/or name, Mia. For example, there is British musician and visual artist M.I.A. (Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam, 1980s Southern California punk rock group M.I.A., German pop band MIA, German electronic music artist and DJ, Mia, and choreographer Mia Michaels. Furthermore, several musicians, including Steven Tyler, Rancid, Foo Fighters, Chevelle, and M.I.A., have songs with "Mia" (or M.I.A.) as the song title.

FAMOUS PERSONS

The name Mia can be linked to several famous figures:
Actress Mia Farrow
Soccer player Mia Hamm
Model Mia Tyler
1989 Miss New York, Mia Seminoff
Actress/entertainer Mia Sara
20th century writer Mia Anderson
Mia Davis, Actress/entertainer
Mia Kirshner, actress/entertainer
Writer, Mia Molvray
Pioneer in female boxing, Mia St. John

Kate Winslet, Joe Montegna, Michael Shanks, Aiden Quinn, Steven Tyler, and Yul Brenner all have daughters whom they have given the name Mia.

http://www.thinkbabynames. com/babyname.php?g=0&n=Mia&a=1
http://babyparenting.about.com /cs/gettingready/a/mia.htm
http ://www.babynamesworld.com/mean ing_of_Mia.html
http://www.yeah baby.com/celebrity-baby-names. php?name=Mia

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