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ArchivesMy column on Milo and why I think its use in the USA is more from the Greek than Slavic origin
I've been really busy and this is two weeks late but here is the link to my column on Milo:
https://omaha.com/life-entertainment/local/article_749459fe-036d-11f0-94ba-8f33b57f6359.html
As you will see in the column there were two famous men called Milo in ancient Classical history: the Greek wrestler, a star of the original Olympics, and a Roman tribune who was the subject of a famous speech by the orator Cicero. (Ironically, that speech was evidently never given in public during Cicero's lifetime but was published among his written speeches after his death.)
The common etymological explanation of Milo as used in the modern English speaking world is that it is an older Germanic form of the name which became Miles, which was also used as the Latin form of Miles in medieval records. Writers of name books in the early 20th century seem to have just assumed that this was the case once they found Milo in those medieval records, and because there are of course many real cases where a written Latin medieval form which was actually not used in spoken English back in medieval times became the spoken form when the name was revived after 1700 (one example being Hilda, which was actually Hild in Old English but written as Hilda in Latin documents.)
The problem with that explanation is that most of the "medieval revival" names which became popular in the 19th century (such as Bertha, Harold, Ida, etc.) were definitely promoted by authors or historical figures in contexts where it is probable that they did have such a medieval origin. So far I have not been able to find any fictional work where Milo is used in such a context. The First British example I have found of a fictional character called Milo is in William Ware’s "Rome and the Early Christians", first published in Edinburgh in 1840. Despite its title it is a novel, not a history book, but it is set in ancient Rome and so the author is using the ancient Roman name Milo as the name for his character.
The first American example of a fictional character named Milo I can find is the book "Milo the Gipsy; or the Fatal Oath" by W. H. Chaney, published in New York in 1866. Unfortunately I can’t so far find a copy of this to see if there are hints in it as to why Chaney chose the name.
Meanwhile well before those books were published there were many publications in English of works about the Greek wrestler, and many printings of English translations of Cicero’s oration about the Roman Milo and many example of the quote “Remember Milo’s end” from Wentworth Dillon’s 1684 poem, which was about the Greek wrestler.
The Classical Revival period in the USA saw many towns named after famous Greek and Roman men, not just after ancient Greek and Roman places. There are towns in upstate New York named Homer, Virgil, Cato, and Scipio. The towns of Milo in Maine and New York were definitely named after the Greek wrestler.
In the early 19th century Milo was also more common as a man’s name in the northern United States than in the South, which fits in with the Classical Revival starting off in the North and spreading South somewhat later. It’s also true that some slaveowners in the South were fond of giving slaves Classical names as a way to show their own learning. In that context it’s relevant that only 16 of the 72 Milos who lived in Georgia in 1870 –the first year the newly emancipated slaves were part of the census – were White, with the rest being Black.
Finally, in her "History of Christian Names" in 1884 (one of the earliest name dictionaries) Charlotte M. Yonge derives Milo from the ancient Greek name. She wrongly derives Miles from the ancient Greek Milo, but this certainly shows that in the late 19th century she was more familiar with the ancient Greek Milo than with any possibility it could have come from a medieval Latin form of Miles.
Now for two complete speculations. First, where did the Roman “Milo” come from? The full name of the tribune Cicero wrote a defense of was Titus Annius Milo. He was originally Titus Papius Milo but that changed when he was adopted by his maternal grandfather, Titus Annius Luscus. Milo was his “cognomen”, a sort of formalized nickname. Though later these became semi-hereditary and applied to a whole “gens” or subfamily, our Milo was early enough in Roman history that many cognomens still originated as individual nicknames. The only comment on the meaning of his cognomen I have seen is “unknown.” I wonder if it’s possible that his cognomen comes from the famous Greek wrestler and was given to him because when he was a boy he was very strong and/or liked to wrestle?
The other question is why was the medieval Latin form of the Norman name Mile or Miles “Milo”? Almost all the medieval Latin forms of male names I’ve seen end in -us, not -o. The only other one that ends in -o that I have run across is Hugo as the Latin form of Hugh. Could it be possible that Milo became the Latin form of Mile/Miles because some medieval monks were familiar with Milo as a Latin cognomen because of Cicero’s writings?
In any event, I think the evidence leans toward the conclusion that Milo as used as a male name in the United States is at least as much from the Greek and Roman name as it is from the medieval Latin form of Miles. I would recommend that the dictionary on this site add a “Milo (2)” entry for the Greek origin.
https://omaha.com/life-entertainment/local/article_749459fe-036d-11f0-94ba-8f33b57f6359.html
As you will see in the column there were two famous men called Milo in ancient Classical history: the Greek wrestler, a star of the original Olympics, and a Roman tribune who was the subject of a famous speech by the orator Cicero. (Ironically, that speech was evidently never given in public during Cicero's lifetime but was published among his written speeches after his death.)
The common etymological explanation of Milo as used in the modern English speaking world is that it is an older Germanic form of the name which became Miles, which was also used as the Latin form of Miles in medieval records. Writers of name books in the early 20th century seem to have just assumed that this was the case once they found Milo in those medieval records, and because there are of course many real cases where a written Latin medieval form which was actually not used in spoken English back in medieval times became the spoken form when the name was revived after 1700 (one example being Hilda, which was actually Hild in Old English but written as Hilda in Latin documents.)
The problem with that explanation is that most of the "medieval revival" names which became popular in the 19th century (such as Bertha, Harold, Ida, etc.) were definitely promoted by authors or historical figures in contexts where it is probable that they did have such a medieval origin. So far I have not been able to find any fictional work where Milo is used in such a context. The First British example I have found of a fictional character called Milo is in William Ware’s "Rome and the Early Christians", first published in Edinburgh in 1840. Despite its title it is a novel, not a history book, but it is set in ancient Rome and so the author is using the ancient Roman name Milo as the name for his character.
The first American example of a fictional character named Milo I can find is the book "Milo the Gipsy; or the Fatal Oath" by W. H. Chaney, published in New York in 1866. Unfortunately I can’t so far find a copy of this to see if there are hints in it as to why Chaney chose the name.
Meanwhile well before those books were published there were many publications in English of works about the Greek wrestler, and many printings of English translations of Cicero’s oration about the Roman Milo and many example of the quote “Remember Milo’s end” from Wentworth Dillon’s 1684 poem, which was about the Greek wrestler.
The Classical Revival period in the USA saw many towns named after famous Greek and Roman men, not just after ancient Greek and Roman places. There are towns in upstate New York named Homer, Virgil, Cato, and Scipio. The towns of Milo in Maine and New York were definitely named after the Greek wrestler.
In the early 19th century Milo was also more common as a man’s name in the northern United States than in the South, which fits in with the Classical Revival starting off in the North and spreading South somewhat later. It’s also true that some slaveowners in the South were fond of giving slaves Classical names as a way to show their own learning. In that context it’s relevant that only 16 of the 72 Milos who lived in Georgia in 1870 –the first year the newly emancipated slaves were part of the census – were White, with the rest being Black.
Finally, in her "History of Christian Names" in 1884 (one of the earliest name dictionaries) Charlotte M. Yonge derives Milo from the ancient Greek name. She wrongly derives Miles from the ancient Greek Milo, but this certainly shows that in the late 19th century she was more familiar with the ancient Greek Milo than with any possibility it could have come from a medieval Latin form of Miles.
Now for two complete speculations. First, where did the Roman “Milo” come from? The full name of the tribune Cicero wrote a defense of was Titus Annius Milo. He was originally Titus Papius Milo but that changed when he was adopted by his maternal grandfather, Titus Annius Luscus. Milo was his “cognomen”, a sort of formalized nickname. Though later these became semi-hereditary and applied to a whole “gens” or subfamily, our Milo was early enough in Roman history that many cognomens still originated as individual nicknames. The only comment on the meaning of his cognomen I have seen is “unknown.” I wonder if it’s possible that his cognomen comes from the famous Greek wrestler and was given to him because when he was a boy he was very strong and/or liked to wrestle?
The other question is why was the medieval Latin form of the Norman name Mile or Miles “Milo”? Almost all the medieval Latin forms of male names I’ve seen end in -us, not -o. The only other one that ends in -o that I have run across is Hugo as the Latin form of Hugh. Could it be possible that Milo became the Latin form of Mile/Miles because some medieval monks were familiar with Milo as a Latin cognomen because of Cicero’s writings?
In any event, I think the evidence leans toward the conclusion that Milo as used as a male name in the United States is at least as much from the Greek and Roman name as it is from the medieval Latin form of Miles. I would recommend that the dictionary on this site add a “Milo (2)” entry for the Greek origin.
This message was edited 4/15/2025, 9:17 AM
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