The baby name Iona isn’t very popular these days, but it saw a moderate amount of usage in the early 1900s. It has several potential origins, including the Scottish island of Iona and the ancient Greek name Ione.
Beyond usage and origin, though, there’s the fascinating fact that the name Iona sounds just like the start of this sentence: “I own a…”
So have you ever wondered what all the Ionas have owned?
I was curious about this. So I checked census records, birth records, marriage records, etc., looking for Ionas who (ostensibly) owned things — that is, Ionas who had nouns as surnames. And I found lots of them.
Here are over 100 of the things that various historical Ionas have “owned,” according to their surnames:
| Iona Apple Iona Attic Iona Axe Iona Badger Iona Barber Iona Bath Iona Beach Iona Bear Iona Beard Iona Beaver Iona Beer Iona Bird Iona Blazer Iona Blunt Iona Bone Iona Book Iona Boot Iona Box Iona Brain Iona Broom Iona Burger Iona Bush Iona Castle Iona Cello Iona Cherry Iona Child Iona Cleaver Iona Clock Iona Cloud Iona Coast Iona Coffee Iona Compass Iona Couch Iona Crabb Iona Dollar Iona Driver Iona Dryer Iona Fiddle Iona Fiddler Iona Field Iona Finger Iona Fish Iona Fogg Iona Foot Iona Fortune Iona Fox Iona Fry Iona Fryer Iona Garden Iona Groom Iona Hair Iona Hall Iona Hand Iona Head Iona Heart Iona Hedge Iona Hill Iona Hippie Iona Hooker | Iona House Iona Husky Iona Kettle Iona Kidney Iona King Iona Kitchen Iona Kite Iona Kitten Iona Knee Iona Lamb Iona Lamp Iona Law Iona Lemon Iona Lung Iona Manual Iona Mitten Iona Moon Iona Mountain Iona Officer Iona Orchard Iona Organ Iona Outhouse Iona Outlaw Iona Oyster Iona Palm Iona Parent Iona Partridge Iona Passenger Iona Peacock Iona Peak Iona Pearl Iona Pebble Iona Penny Iona Pigg Iona Pitcher Iona Plant Iona Plum Iona Poncho Iona Prince Iona Puff Iona Queen Iona Seal Iona Shoulder Iona Skiff Iona Skipper Iona Spear Iona Star Iona Stone Iona Stoner Iona Street Iona Stump Iona Summit Iona Swan Iona Tart Iona Vest Iona Wall Iona Wedding Iona Wine Iona Wolf |
Which one of these combinations did you like best?
And, do you think the name Iona could become trendy again one day soon? (Usage of the name has been creeping upward since the 1990s.)
This was brilliant! Made me smile in the middle of a busy day.
Iona Axe is my favorite, with Iona Brain as a close runner-up.
Love this! After listening to the video my favorite has to be Iona Greathouse. Just one nitpick – for Apple, Orchard, Organ etc the first name should really be Ionan. It may not exist yet, but there are worse ways to make up new names.
I’m happy you guys liked it!
@Rachel – Yes that bugged me too about the vowel surnames. :)