How popular is the baby name Ilona in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Ilona.

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Popularity of the baby name Ilona


Posts that mention the name Ilona

Popular baby names in Finland, 2023

Flag of Finland
Flag of Finland

Last year, the Nordic country of Finland welcomed 44,960 babies. Not all of these babies had government-registered names by the time Finland released its baby name data in April of 2024, though, so only 44,710 of them are accounted for below.

Finnish speakers

About 84.9% of the people in Finland primarily speak Finnish.

Of the 35,481 (named) babies born to Finnish speakers last year, 17,251 were girls and 18,230 were boys.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Aino and Eino.

Here are the top 50 girl names and top 50 boy names:

Girl names (Finnish speakers)

  1. Aino, 264 baby girls
  2. Olivia, 245
  3. Aada, 233
  4. Lilja, 225
  5. Sofia, 224
  6. Eevi, 220
  7. Ellen, 206
  8. Linnea, 203
  9. Helmi, 197
  10. Aava, 196 (tie)
  11. Isla, 196 (tie)
  12. Viola, 183
  13. Kerttu, 177
  14. Emma, 173
  15. Pihla, 171
  16. Venla, 167
  17. Hilla, 165 (tie)
  18. Seela, 165 (tie)
  19. Emilia, 152
  20. Ella, 148
  21. Elli, 145
  22. Livia, 143
  23. Alma, 138
  24. Selma, 128
  25. Elsi, 127
  26. Elsa, 124
  27. Enni, 123
  28. Matilda, 122
  29. Ilona, 120
  30. Oona, 116
  31. Frida, 113
  32. Vivian, 111
  33. Minea, 108
  34. Vilma, 106
  35. Aurora, 105
  36. Hilda, 105
  37. Hilma, 101 (tie)
  38. Stella, 101 (tie)
  39. Lumi, 99
  40. Amanda, 98
  41. Alina, 94 (tie)
  42. Alisa, 94 (tie)
  43. Mila, 93
  44. Mette, 92
  45. Nella, 90
  46. Viivi, 87 (tie)
  47. Bea, 87 (tie)
  48. Siiri, 83 (3-way tie)
  49. Nelli, 83 (3-way tie)
  50. Saimi, 83 (3-way tie)

Boy names (Finnish speakers)

  1. Eino, 376 baby boys
  2. Oliver, 343
  3. Väinö, 320
  4. Elias, 305
  5. Onni, 283
  6. Leo, 278
  7. Emil, 229
  8. Vilho, 217
  9. Eeli, 207
  10. Aatos, 200
  11. Noel, 194
  12. Alvar, 193
  13. Oiva, 192
  14. Toivo, 189
  15. Eemil, 186
  16. Leevi, 184
  17. Nooa, 181
  18. Hugo, 168
  19. Joel, 166
  20. Otso, 150
  21. Viljami, 147
  22. Kasper, 137 (tie)
  23. Eemi, 137 (tie)
  24. Eelis, 136 (tie)
  25. Anton, 136 (tie)
  26. Aarni, 134
  27. Niilo, 131
  28. Lenni, 130
  29. Aapo, 129
  30. Daniel, 126
  31. Julius, 125
  32. Milo, 122
  33. Leon, 121
  34. Edvin, 120
  35. Aaron, 119 (3-way tie)
  36. Viljo, 119 (3-way tie)
  37. Luka, 119 (3-way tie)
  38. Samuel, 116
  39. Veikko, 115
  40. Mikael, 111 (tie)
  41. Eetu, 111 (tie)
  42. Eliel, 109
  43. Lukas, 107 (tie)
  44. Jooa, 107 (tie)
  45. Lucas, 105
  46. Rasmus, 104
  47. Sulo, 102 (tie)
  48. Eemeli, 102 (tie)
  49. Iivo, 100
  50. Jasper, 92

How are those similar-looking #1 names pronounced? The girl name Aino is pronounced IE-no (first syllable rhymes with pie and lie), while the boy name Eino is pronounced AY-no (first syllable rhymes with pay and lay)

Swedish speakers

About 5.1% of the people in Finland primarily speak Swedish.

Of the 3,009 (named) babies born to Swedish speakers in Finland last year, 1,451 were girls and 1,558 were boys.

Here are the top 5+ girl names and top 5 boy names:

Girl names (Swedish speakers)Boy names (Swedish speakers)
1. Ellen, 29 baby girls
2. Astrid, 21
3. Ebba, 20 (tie)
4. Saga, 20 (tie)
5. Olivia, 18 (tie)
6. Stella, 18 (tie)
1. Liam, 33 baby boys
2. Theo, 27 (tie)
3. Alvar, 27 (tie)
4. Leon, 25
5. Hugo, 23

Other languages

Other languages spoken in Finland include Russian, Estonian, Arabic, English, and Sami.

Of the 6,220 (named) babies born in Finland last year to parents who primarily speak something other than Finnish or Swedish, 3,085 were girls and 3,135 were boys.

Here are the top 5 girl names and top 5 boy names:

Girl names (other languages)Boy names (other languages)
1. Sofia, 56 baby girls
2. Emilia, 29
3. Olivia, 28
4. Sara, 25
5. Anna, 24
1. Adam, 52 baby boys
2. Mark, 38
3. Daniel, 34
4. Elias, 32
5. Muhammad, 31

Finally, here are Finland’s 2022 rankings, if you’d like to compare last year to the year before.

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Flag of Finland (public domain)

How will the Paris Olympics affect the baby name Ilona?

The Olympic rings on the Eiffel Tower in Paris

The Paris Olympics gave us dozens of interesting Olympian names (e.g., Hezly, Mijaín, Arisa, Mondo) to talk about, but the one I’m most interested in right now is Ilona.

Ilona Maher (pronounced ih-LOH-nah MAHR) was part of the U.S. Women’s Olympic Rugby Sevens team that won bronze in dramatic fashion on July 30.

Perhaps more importantly, Ilona Maher is very popular on social media. She has over 3 million followers on Instagram and over 2 million on TikTok.

She’s also been spotlighted by a number mainstream media outlets, such as Time, People, and CNN. She even appeared on Late Night with Seth Meyers a week ago.

What really caught my eye, though, were the name-related comments on one of Ilona’s recent IG posts — the one in which she posed with swimmer Katie Ledecky.

Here’s one of the comments:

Instagram comment

And another:

Instagram comment

Currently, the name Ilona is being given to about 20 baby girls per year in the U.S.:

  • 2023: 17 baby girls named Ilona
  • 2022: 22 baby girls named Ilona
  • 2021: 19 baby girls named Ilona
  • 2020: 24 baby girls named Ilona

Do you think we’ll see a noticeable increase in usage in 2024, thanks to Ilona Maher?

P.S. Maher mentioned in this TikTok video that her mother Mieneke, who is Dutch, pronounces her first name ee-LOH-nah.

Update, Sept. 8, 2024: Ilona Maher will be one of the celebrity contestants on the upcoming season of Dancing with the Stars.

Sources: Ilona Maher – Wikipedia, SSA

Top image: Adapted from Olympic rings on the Eiffel Tower 2024 (1) by Ibex73 under CC BY 4.0.

Popular baby names in Finland, 2022

Flag of Finland
Flag of Finland

The sauna-loving country of Finland is located in Northern Europe and shares a border with three other countries: Sweden, Norway, and Russia.

Most of the people in Finland speak Finnish (85.9%), but the rest of the population speaks Swedish (5.2%), Sami (0.04%), or some other language (8.9%) such as Russian, Estonian, or Arabic.

Last year, Finland welcomed 46,809 babies. At the time the country released its baby name data (in mid-April), 46,486 of these babies — 22,742 girls and 23,744 boys — had been named.

What were the most popular names overall? Olivia and Leo.

Finland’s baby name data is broken down by language group, so let’s kick things off with the Finnish speakers…

Finnish speakers

Of the 37,365 (named) babies born to Finnish speakers in Finland last year, 18,261 were girls and 19,104 were boys. Here are the top 50 girl names and top 50 boy names of 2022:

Girl Names

  1. Olivia, 276 baby girls
  2. Aino, 256
  3. Aada, 248
  4. Lilja, 238
  5. Eevi, 235
  6. Isla, 232
  7. Helmi, 227
  8. Venla, 219
  9. Sofia, 212
  10. Ellen, 210
  11. Aava, 209
  12. Hilla, 200
  13. Emma, 199
  14. Linnea, 194
  15. Pihla, 193
  16. Viola, 191 (tie)
  17. Kerttu, 191 (tie)
  18. Ella, 188
  19. Emilia, 156 (tie)
  20. Elli, 156 (tie)
  21. Enni, 148
  22. Seela, 136
  23. Hilma, 134 (tie)
  24. Hilda, 134 (tie)
  25. Elsa, 133
  26. Livia, 132
  27. Alisa, 131
  28. Alma, 128
  29. Oona, 124
  30. Ilona, 121
  31. Mila, 119
  32. Alina, 118
  33. Frida, 115
  34. Elsi, 114
  35. Matilda, 113
  36. Minea, 111
  37. Vilma, 108
  38. Mette, 105
  39. Aurora, 102
  40. Hertta, 101 (tie)
  41. Lumi, 101 (tie)
  42. Amanda, 100 (tie)
  43. Selma, 100 (tie)
  44. Viivi, 98
  45. Nella, 95
  46. Bea, 93
  47. Saimi, 89 (tie)
  48. Vivian, 89 (tie)
  49. Siiri, 87
  50. Stella, 86

Boy Names

  1. Leo, 376 baby boys
  2. Väinö, 364
  3. Eino, 349
  4. Oliver, 342
  5. Elias, 316
  6. Onni, 313
  7. Emil, 239
  8. Eeli, 225
  9. Toivo, 216
  10. Leevi, 210
  11. Noel, 199
  12. Hugo, 186
  13. Joel, 185
  14. Aatos, 184 (tie)
  15. Vilho, 184 (tie)
  16. Alvar, 181
  17. Eemil, 172
  18. Oiva, 169
  19. Otso, 159
  20. Nooa, 156
  21. Mikael, 154
  22. Aarni, 153 (tie)
  23. Viljami, 153 (tie)
  24. Niilo, 149
  25. Lenni, 148
  26. Luka, 144
  27. Daniel, 139
  28. Benjamin, 137
  29. Anton, 135
  30. Kasper, 132
  31. Edvin, 129
  32. Aaron, 128
  33. Viljo, 126
  34. Jooa, 121
  35. Julius, 120 (tie)
  36. Eetu, 120 (tie)
  37. Olavi, 119
  38. Aapo, 118
  39. Milo, 115
  40. Eelis, 114
  41. Lukas, 113
  42. Eemi, 112
  43. Leon, 111
  44. Matias, 105
  45. Urho, 104
  46. Rasmus, 101 (tie)
  47. Max, 101 (tie)
  48. Samuel, 99 (tie)
  49. Luukas, 99 (tie)
  50. Iivo, 97

Swedish speakers

Of the 3,157 (named) babies born to Swedish speakers in Finland last year, 1,552 were girls and 1,605 were boys. Here are the top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names:

Girl NamesBoy Names
1. Saga, 29
2. Ellen, 23
3. Alva, 20
4. Emma, 19
5. Stella, 17
6. Edith, 16 (4-way tie)
7. Olivia, 16 (4-way tie)
8. Astrid, 16 (4-way tie)
9. Alma, 16 (4-way tie)
10. Elsa, 15
1. Oliver, 33
2. William, 28
3. Liam, 23
4. Anton, 21 (tie)
5. Emil, 21 (tie)
6. Edvin, 20 (tie)
7. Max, 20 (tie)
8. Hugo, 19 (tie)
9. Benjamin, 19 (tie)
10. Felix/Leon, 18 each (tie)

Other languages

Of the 5,964 (named) babies born in Finland last year to parents who speak something other than Finnish or Swedish, 2,929 were girls and 3,035 were boys. Here are the top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names:

Girl NamesBoy Names
1. Sofia, 36
2. Maria, 26
3. Olivia, 22
4. Eva, 21
5. Emilia, 19
6. Mia, 18
7. Aurora, 17
8. Alisa, 16
9. Emma, 15
10. Aisha/Anna/Mira/Sara, 14 each (4-way tie)
1. Adam, 46
2. Elias, 30 (tie)
3. Muhammad, 30 (tie)
4. Mark, 29
5. Leo 28
6. Daniel, 25
7. Ali, 22
8. Mohamed, 18 (tie)
9. Noah, 18 (tie)
10. Liam/Martin/Oliver, 16 each (3-way tie)

Finally, here are Finland’s 2021 rankings, if you’d like to compare last year to the year before.

Sources: Most popular children’s names – Digital and Population Data Services Agency, Olivia and Leo are still the most popular children’s names in Finland, Population and Society – Statistics Finland

Image: Adapted from Flag of Finland (public domain)

Popular baby names in Ukraine, 2022

Flag of Ukraine
Flag of Ukraine

The Eastern European country of Ukraine is the second-largest country on the continent, after Russia.

Several years ago, Ukraine had a population of roughly 42 million, making it Europe’s eighth most populous country. Following Russia’s full-scale invasion in February of 2022, however, more than 8 million Ukrainians have fled to other countries (such as Poland).

Ukraine’s Ministry of Justice recently revealed the top baby names of 2022 in the capital city of Kyiv and in five nearby regions (called “oblasts”). All six of these places are located in the central/western part of the country:

Map of Ukraine
Map of Ukraine

Rankings weren’t included, so, in the tables below, I’ve written the names in the order in which they appeared in the news release.

Kyiv (city)

Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, has a population of over 2.9 million — making it the seventh most populous city in Europe. Here are Kyiv’s top baby names of 2022:

Girl NamesBoy Names
City of KyivSofiya
Polina
Viktoriya
Eva
Anna
Mariya
Mark
Oleksandr
Maksym
Matviy
Artem

The city’s rare names included…

  • Girls: Afeliya, Javelina, Vlastylyna, Ava, Elya, Danya, Mriya, Agpiya, Sonya, Lali, Lukeriya, Zlatoslava, Zemfira
  • Boys: Orion, Hraf (Graf), Kiy, Kai, Slaven, Horus, Avenir, Eleazar, Danko, Yavir, Danislav, Azariy, Veleslav
St. Javelin

Javelina and its male equivalent, Javelin, are two of the weapon-inspired names that have emerged in the wake of the Russian invasion. They come from the FGM-148 Javelin — an American-made, hand-held, anti-tank missile system. The weapon is featured in the pro-Ukrainian “St. Javelin” internet meme (above). Incidentally, a baby born in Sonoma County in 2022 was named Javelin — perhaps his family is Ukrainian?

Another weapon-inspired name being given to baby boys is Bayraktar. This one comes from the Bayraktar TB2 — a Turkish-made unmanned aerial vehicle that carries laser-guided bombs. The word bayraktar means “flag-bearer” in Turkish.

Kyiv Oblast

Kyiv Oblast has a population of over 1.7 million. Here are the region’s top baby names of 2022:

Girl NamesBoy Names
Kyiv OblastAnna
Anastasiya
Veronika
Viktoriya
Eva
Mariya
Polina
Solomiya
Sofiya
Andriy
Artem
Bohdan
Vladyslav
Danylo
David
Dmytro
Matviy
Mark
Maksym
Nazar
Oleksandr
Timofey
Yaroslav

Solomiya is the Ukrainian form of Salome.

The region’s rare names included…

  • Girls: Aurika, Bozhena, Dayana, Evangelina, Emily, Narin, Noel, Rachel, Yasmina
  • Boys: Arney, Vil’yam, Demyan, Lavr, Leon, Matt, Seraphim, Tamirlan, Teymur

Vinnytsia Oblast

Vinnytsia Oblast has a population of over 1.5 million. Here are the region’s top baby names of 2022:

Girl NamesBoy Names
Vinnytsia OblastSofiya
Anna
Anastasiya
Viktoriya
Solomiya
Artem
Dmytro
Maksym
Matviy
Mark

The region’s rare names included…

  • Girls: Pollyanna, Afina (Athena), Kyriena, Solomiya-Sevda, Lolita, Monika
  • Boys: Sultan, Elisey, Radoslav, Moses, Nikitas

Khmelnytskyi Oblast

Khmelnytskyi Oblast has a population of over 1.27 million. Here are the region’s top baby names of 2022:

Girl NamesBoy Names
Khmelnytskyi OblastAnastasiya
Anna
Viktoriya
Veronika
Daryna
Emiliya
Eva
Zlata
Mariya
Nadiya
Oleksandra
Polina
Solomiya
Sofiya
Yaryna
Andriy
Artem
Vladyslav
David
Danylo
Ilya
Maksym
Mark
Matviy
Mykhailo
Nazar
Oleksandr
Roman
Timofey
Yaroslav

Yaryna is related to Irina (Irene).

The region’s rare names included…

  • Girls: Alvina, Amaliya, Afina (Athena), Vanessa, Vivien, Hloriya (Gloria), Zara, Liliana, Luna, Patrina, Yunna, Ulpana
  • Boys: Dominik, Iskander, Marius, Nathaniel, Nikodim, Ryan, Seviur, Stefa, Yusuf

Zhytomyr Oblast

Zhytomyr Oblast has a population of over 1.21 million. Here are the region’s top baby names of 2022:

Girl NamesBoy Names
Zhytomyr OblastAlina, Alisa, Alisiya, Anhelina, Anna, Anastasiya, Arina, Bohdana, Valentyna, Valeriya, Varvara, Veronika, Viktoriya, Darina, Evelina, Emiliya, Eva, Elizaveta, Zlata, Karina, Kateryna, Kipa, Marharyta (Margarita), Mariya, Marta, Milana, Myroslava, Nikole, Oleksandra, Polina, Sofiya, Solomiya, Yuliya, YanaAndriy, Artem, Artur, Bohdan, Volodymyr, Vladyslav, Danyil, Danylo, Denis, Dmytro, Yehor, Zakhar, Ivan, Ilya, Kyrylo, Lev, Makar, Maksym, Mark, Maryan, Matviy, Mykhailo, Nazar, Nikita, Oleksandr, Stefan, Timofey, Timur, Yuriy, Yan, Yaroslav

The region’s rare names included…

  • Girls: Aurora, Ahata (Agatha), Adelina, Adriana, Albina, Alvina, Aneliya, Anisiya, Bozhena, Habriella (Gabriella), Diana, Dariana, Dilara, Dominika, Elina, Elvira, Eliana, Emira, Emma, Esther, Ilona, Ilariya, Liana, Lika, Liya, Malika, Melisa, Mila, Milena, Mira, Miya, Monika, Nikoletta, Nikoloz, Oliviya, Radmira, Rosa, Roksolana, Ruf, Sabina, Sandra, Stella, Stefaniya, Teona, Ulyana
  • Boys: Avdei, Ayrton, Aleks, Amin, Amibrek, Amir, Arman, Armen, Arsen, Brian, Biloslav, Bartholomew, Veniamin, Damir, Danil, Josh, Ernest, Emmanuel, Imran, Yonatan, Lavrin, Larion, Leon, Luka, Maksymilian, Milan, Nestor, Oles, Oscar, Platon, Radion, Rinat, Reuben, Samuel, Sarmat, Seraphim, Svitozhar, Tamirlan, Farid, Khoma

Cherkasy Oblast

Cherkasy Oblast has a population of close to 1.2 million. Here are the region’s top baby names of 2022:

Girl NamesBoy Names
Cherkasy OblastAnastasiya
Anna
Alisa
Arina
Veronika
Viktoriya
Eva
Mariya
Milana
Solomiya
Sofiya
Stefaniya
Polina
Artem
Bohdan
Volodymyr
Vladyslav
Denis
Dmytro
Ivan
Maksym
Mark
Matviy
Nazar
Oleksandr
Timofey
Yaroslav

The region’s rare names included…

  • Girls: Aveliya, Aya, Hlafira (Glafira), Elmira, Emma, Zoryana, Isolde, Ilariya, Chiara, Karolina, Luna, Miropiya, Mriya, Solya, Tiana, Tsvitana, Yasmina, Yatomira
  • Boys: Ayman, Arey, Gulorom, Dar, Yesfir, Zakir, Zlatan, Ilon, Kosma, Lubomyr, Mars, Meruzh, Orest, Radomir, Sayan, Tehran, Tikhon

The name Stefaniya is on the rise thanks to the song “Stefania” by Ukrainian folk/rap group Kalush Orchestra. It won the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest by a landslide. The lyrics refer to the lead singer’s mother, but the song “has since taken on a new, more patriotic meaning.” Here’s the music video:

I suspect that Viktoriya (Victoria) — which means “victory” in Latin, and appears on all six of the lists above — bears extra significance among Ukrainians these days as well.

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Flag of Ukraine (public domain)
Map: Adapted from Ukraine (1991-2014) location map by NordNordWest under CC BY-SA 3.0.