# Ilona (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/ilona/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | girls |
| Origin | Greek |
| Meaning | not recorded |
| Pronunciation | /ɪˈləʊnə/, 3 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 3,332 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 0 / 3,332 (100% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 244, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From Hungarian Ilona. A rare variant of Helen or Helena.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 24 | 5,625 |
| 2012 | 26 | 5,307 |
| 2013 | 22 | 5,896 |
| 2014 | 19 | 6,551 |
| 2015 | 36 | 4,099 |
| 2016 | 35 | 4,192 |
| 2017 | 28 | 4,855 |
| 2018 | 29 | 4,702 |
| 2019 | 30 | 4,585 |
| 2020 | 24 | 5,222 |
| 2021 | 19 | 6,262 |
| 2022 | 22 | 5,704 |
| 2023 | 17 | 6,769 |
| 2024 | 28 | 4,815 |
| 2025 | 38 | 3,861 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 6 | 3,533 |
| 2011 | 8 | 2,893 |
| 2012 | 12 | 2,215 |
| 2013 | 13 | 2,062 |
| 2014 | 11 | 2,314 |
| 2015 | 7 | 3,252 |
| 2016 | 7 | 3,214 |
| 2017 | 4 | 4,763 |
| 2018 | 5 | 3,985 |
| 2019 | 3 | 5,591 |
| 2020 | 4 | 4,535 |
| 2021 | 5 | 3,961 |
| 2023 | 3 | 5,687 |
| 2024 | 4 | 4,843 |
| 2025 | 5 | 4,201 |

## People named Ilona

- Ilona Slupianek, East German shot putter
- Ilona Gusenbauer, Austrian high jumper
- Ilona Koutny, Esperantist and linguist
- Ilona Maher, American rugby player
- Ilona Usovich, Belarusian sprinter
- Ilona Richter, East German rower
- Ilona Mitrecey, French singer
- Ilona Csáková, Czech singer
- Ilona Burgrová, Czech basketball player (born 1984)
- Ilona Mononen, Finnish middle distance runner
- Ilona Kabos, (1893-1973) classical pianist
- Ilona Békési, artistic gymnast

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.