# Iona (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/iona/  
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 | not recorded |
| Meaning | not recorded |
| Pronunciation | /aɪˈoʊnə/, 3 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 12,261 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 10 / 12,251 (100% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 3,759, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

Probably a misreading of Latin Ioua, an attempt to Latinize Old Irish Í.

## 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 | 39 | 3,870 |
| 2012 | 42 | 3,741 |
| 2013 | 45 | 3,491 |
| 2014 | 59 | 2,901 |
| 2015 | 65 | 2,724 |
| 2016 | 59 | 2,878 |
| 2017 | 49 | 3,271 |
| 2018 | 68 | 2,571 |
| 2019 | 73 | 2,441 |
| 2020 | 52 | 3,074 |
| 2021 | 66 | 2,618 |
| 2022 | 76 | 2,416 |
| 2023 | 56 | 2,994 |
| 2024 | 61 | 2,786 |
| 2025 | 65 | 2,667 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 5 | 13,292 |
| 2024 | 5 | 13,026 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 125 | 375 |
| 2012 | 111 | 412 |
| 2013 | 97 | 434 |
| 2014 | 134 | 341 |
| 2015 | 121 | 372 |
| 2016 | 104 | 427 |
| 2017 | 113 | 394 |
| 2018 | 118 | 380 |
| 2019 | 107 | 399 |
| 2020 | 96 | 439 |
| 2021 | 107 | 416 |
| 2022 | 88 | 472 |
| 2023 | 83 | 477 |
| 2024 | 92 | 451 |
| 2025 | 77 | 520 |

## People named Iona

- Iona Anderson, Australian swimmer
- Iona Brown, British violinist and conductor (1941–2004)
- Iona Moir, British track cyclist
- Iona Campagnolo, Canadian politician
- Archduchess Eleonore of Austria, Austrian Imperial and Royal
- Annabelle Neilson, British socialite, fashion model, author, and television personality (1969–2018)

## 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.