How popular is the baby name Ilona in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Find out using the graph below! Plus, check out all the blog posts that mention the name Ilona.

The graph will take a few moments to load. (Don't worry, it shouldn't take 9 months!) If it's taking too long, try reloading the page.


Popularity of the Baby Name Ilona


Posts that Mention the Name Ilona

Popular baby names in Finland, 2021

Finland

The country of Finland is located in Northern Europe and shares land borders with Russia, Sweden and Norway.

Most of the people in Finland speak Finnish (86.5%), but the rest of the population speaks either Swedish (5.2%), Sami (0.04%), or some other language (8.3%) such as Russian, Estonian, or Arabic.

Last year, Finland welcomed over 51,000 babies. At the time the country released its baby name data, 50,547 of these babies — 24,764 girls and 25,783 boys — had been named.

And what were the most popular names overall? Olivia and Leo.

Finland’s baby name data is broken down by language group, so lets start with the Finnish speakers…

Finnish speakers

Of the 41,478 (named) babies born to Finnish speakers in Finland last year, 20,301 were girls and 21,177 were boys.

Here are the top 50 girl names and top 50 boy names of 2021:

Girl Names

  1. Olivia, 312 baby girls
  2. Lilja, 274
  3. Eevi, 272
  4. Sofia, 271
  5. Venla, 254 (3-way tie)
  6. Aino, 254 (3-way tie)
  7. Isla, 254 (3-way tie)
  8. Aada, 240
  9. Emma, 233
  10. Aava, 230
  11. Helmi, 225
  12. Linnea, 214 (tie)
  13. Ellen, 214 (tie)
  14. Kerttu, 202
  15. Pihla, 201
  16. Ella, 197
  17. Viola, 195
  18. Hilla, 189
  19. Elli, 188
  20. Seela, 187
  21. Enni, 179
  22. Emilia, 178
  23. Alma, 168
  24. Livia, 160
  25. Minea, 159
  26. Matilda, 157
  27. Elsa, 154
  28. Ilona, 140 (tie)
  29. Mila, 140 (tie)
  30. Hilda, 138
  31. Amanda, 134 (tie)
  32. Alisa, 134 (tie)
  33. Elsi, 132 (tie)
  34. Alina, 132 (tie)
  35. Hilma, 125
  36. Frida, 124
  37. Mette, 120
  38. Hertta, 119 (tie)
  39. Lumi, 119 (tie)
  40. Nella, 117
  41. Aurora, 115
  42. Siiri, 113
  43. Vilma, 110
  44. Saimi, 107 (tie)
  45. Selma, 107 (tie)
  46. Viivi, 105 (tie)
  47. Iida, 105 (tie)
  48. Oona, 104
  49. Martta, 102
  50. Neela, 92

Boy Names

  1. Leo, 397 baby boys
  2. Eino, 394
  3. Oliver, 371
  4. Elias, 362
  5. Väinö, 361
  6. Onni, 301
  7. Eeli, 279
  8. Noel, 276
  9. Toivo, 259
  10. Joel, 245
  11. Aatos, 230 – a Finnish term meaning “thought”
  12. Hugo, 229
  13. Emil, 224
  14. Leevi, 218
  15. Vilho, 211
  16. Alvar, 202
  17. Eemil, 186
  18. Eetu, 179
  19. Oiva, 178 – means “splendid” in Finnish
  20. Julius, 177
  21. Viljami, 176
  22. Nooa, 172
  23. Niilo, 168
  24. Otso, 157 – means “bear” in Finnish
  25. Lenni, 153
  26. Daniel, 151
  27. Anton, 149
  28. Luka, 148
  29. Aapo, 143
  30. Kasper, 142
  31. Aarni, 140
  32. Eelis, 139 (tie)
  33. Matias, 139 (tie)
  34. Veikko, 138 (tie)
  35. Aaron, 138 (tie)
  36. Mikael, 135
  37. Edvin, 134
  38. Benjamin, 130
  39. Jasper, 127 (3-way tie)
  40. Samuel, 127 (3-way tie)
  41. Rasmus, 127 (3-way tie)
  42. Eemeli, 126 (3-way tie)
  43. Milo, 126 (3-way tie)
  44. Niklas, 126 (3-way tie)
  45. Jooa, 123
  46. Iivo, 120 (3-way tie)
  47. Veeti, 120 (3-way tie)
  48. Max, 120 (3-way tie)
  49. Lucas, 117
  50. Urho, 116

Minna Saarelma-Paukkala, a researcher at the University of Helsinki, had this to say about Finland’s unique baby names:

Many of them are nature-related, such as Havu (Sprig), Vadelma (Raspberry), Skysy (Autumn) or Tyrsky (Wave). Many new names are also created on the basis of older names, such as snow (Lumi) related ones like Lumia, Lumiina and Lumitähti.

She also noted that names trendy in Finland in the 1940s — particularly those beginning with the letter r, such as Ritva and Raimo — could be coming back. “Reino, for example, has already risen into the top 100.” (Reino is the Finnish form of Reynold.)

Swedish speakers

Of the 3,458 (named) babies born to Swedish speakers in Finland last year, 1,698 were girls and 1,760 were boys. Here are the top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names:

Girl NamesBoy Names
1. Saga, 35
2. Stella, 29
3. Ellen, 27
4. Edith, 24
5. Olivia, 23
6. Astrid, 21 (tie)
7. Ebba, 21 (tie)
8. Elsa, 20
9. Selma, 19
10. Tove/Iris/Livia, 18 each (3-way tie)		1. Liam, 35
2. Oliver, 29
3. Benjamin, 28
4. William, 27
5. Alvar, 26
6. Hugo, 25
7. Theo, 23 (5-way tie)
8. Emil, 23 (5-way tie)
9. Frans, 23 (5-way tie)
10. Leon/Elias, 23 each (5-way tie)

Interestingly, Alice and Noah — the top names in Sweden — weren’t as popular among the Swedes of Finland. Alice didn’t even make the top 50. (Noah ranked 50th exactly.)

Other languages

Of the 5,611 (named) babies born in Finland last year to parents who speak something other than Finnish or Swedish, 2,765 were girls and 2,846 were boys. Here are the top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names:

Girl NamesBoy Names
1. Sofia, 48
2. Maria, 24
3. Eva, 20
4. Emma, 19 (tie)
5. Mia, 19 (tie)
6. Anna, 18
7. Emilia, 17 (3-way tie)
8. Mila, 17 (3-way tie)
9. Sara, 17 (3-way tie)
10. Mira/Olivia, 16 each (tie)		1. Adam, 38
2. Elias, 35
3. Daniel, 27
4. Leo, 26
5. Muhammad, 21
6. Mark, 20
7. Oliver, 17
8. Benjamin, 15 (3-way tie)
9. Lucas, 15 (3-way tie)
10. Mikael, 15 (3-way tie)

Finally, here are Finland’s 2020 rankings, if you’d like to compare last year to the year before.

Sources: Suosituimmat Etunimet | Digi- ja väestötietovirasto, Olivia and Leo Finland’s most popular baby names in 2021, Population and Society – Statistics Finland, Behind the Name

What turned Greer into a girl name in the early 1940s?

Actress Greer Garson (1904-1996)
Greer Garson

From the 1910s to the 1930s, the rare name Greer occasionally popped in the in the U.S. baby name data as a boy name. In the early 1940s, though, it suddenly started being given to baby girls:

  • 1943: 37 baby girls and 10 baby boys named Greer
  • 1942: 15 baby girls and 6 baby boys named Greer
  • 1941: 5 baby girls named Greer
  • 1940: unlisted
  • 1939: unlisted

In fact, from 1941 onward, the name Greer has been given more often to baby girls than to baby boys:

Graph of the usage of the baby name Greer
Graph of the usage of the name Greer

What caused the switch?

Red-haired British actress Greer Garson, who was most popular in America during the early-to-mid 1940s. She was nominated for the Oscar for Best Actress seven times, though she won only once (for her role in the 1942 movie Mrs. Miniver).

Her birth name was Eileen Evelyn Greer Garson; Greer was her mother’s maiden name. She began going by “Greer Garson” in the early 1930s, while she was still a stage actress in England.

Louis B. Mayer, head of MGM studios, discovered Garson in 1937 while he was abroad hunting for talent. After that particular trip, he sailed back to the U.S. with Garson and several other finds:

Also on board were two Austrian actresses named Hedy Kiesler and Rose Stradner, screenwriter Walter Reisch, and two singers, Hungarian Ilona Hajmassy, and Polish Miliza Korjus. While Mayer renamed Hedy Kiesler “Hedy Lamarr” and changed Ilona Hajmassy to “Ilona Massey,” he was stumped when it came to Greer and Miliza Korjus. Ultimately, he settled with Howard Strickling [head of MGM’s publicity department] to start a publicity campaign for Korjus (“her name rhymes with gorgeous!”), and left Greer’s name alone. But for years he would continue to complain that her name was not feminine enough.

The surname Greer is related to the personal name Gregory, which means “watchful, alert.”

What are your thoughts on the name Greer? Do you like it better as a girl name or as a boy name?

Sources:

P.S. The top image of (a very bejeweled) Greer Garson comes from her appearance on the TV game show “What’s My Line?” in April of 1958.

P.P.S. At the height of her fame, Greer Garson owned two standard poodles with the rhyming names Gogo and Clicquot (pronounced klee-koh).

Initials that spell names: Z.A.C., E.V.A., C.A.M.

In June of 1982, the Toledo Blade ran a short article about two local brothers who “enjoy the distinction of having initials which spell their names.” One was Thomas Owen Matzinger (T.O.M.), the other was James Irvin Matzinger (J.I.M.). Their dad Mike said it was “just as well” that he didn’t have any more kids, because he couldn’t think of any other sets of names to fit the pattern.

My guess is that Mike was joking, because there are several other sets of initials that could work with an M-surname like Matzinger, one of which, T.I.M., is just a letter away from T.O.M.

In fact, there are at least a couple of combinations that would work with every type of surname.

So today, in honor of the Matzingers of Toledo, I’ve come up with a long list of name-spelling initials. They’re sorted by third initial (that is, the first letter of the last name) so you can scroll straight to the set that matches up with your own surname.

Enjoy!

Initials that Spell Names & Nicknames

Surname starts with:Potential full initials (& example combo):
AA.D.A. (Adelaide Diane A.)
A.N.A. (Anastasia Nadine A.)
A.S.A. (Asa Scott A.)
A.V.A. (Ava Virginia A.)
B.E.A. (Beatrix Elaine A.)
E.V.A. (Eva Veronica A.)
G.I.A. (Gia Idonea A.)
I.D.A. (Idabelle Daria A.)
I.N.A. (Ina Nigella A.)
I.R.A. (Ira Ralph A.)
I.S.A. (Isabel Simone A.)
K.I.A. (Kia Ianthe A.)
L.E.A. (Leah Elizabeth A.)
M.I.A. (Mia Imelda A.)
N.I.A. (Nia Ilona A.)
O.D.A. (Odalys Delfina A.)
O.R.A. (Ora Ruth A.)
U.M.A. (Uma Magnolia A.)
U.N.A. (Una Normina A.)
BD.E.B. (Deborah Ethel B.)
J.E.B. (Jeb Evan B.)
L.I.B. (Libbie Ione B.)
R.O.B. (Robert Orville B.)
S.E.B. (Sebastian Everly B.)
S.Y.B. (Sybil Yvette B.)
T.A.B. (Tabitha Araminta B.)
Z.E.B. (Zebulon Ezekiel B.)
CB.E.C. (Becky Eowyn C.)
M.A.C. (Mackenzie Anne C.)
N.I.C. (Nicole Isabelle C.)
V.I.C. (Victor Ivan C.)
Z.A.C. (Zackary Arlo C.)
DJ.E.D. (Jedidiah Easton D.)
R.O.D. (Rodney Orrin D.)
T.E.D. (Theodora Eugenia D.)
Z.E.D. (Zedekiah Ezra D.)
EA.B.E. (Abraham Benjamin E.)
A.C.E. (Ace Corbin E.)
E.V.E. (Eve Violet E.)
F.A.E. (Fae Adina E.)
I.K.E. (Isaac Keith E.)
J.O.E. (Joseph Owen E.)
L.E.E. (Lee Ethan E.)
M.A.E. (Maebelle Alice E.)
M.O.E. (Morris Oscar E.)
R.A.E. (Raelene Alicia E.)
S.U.E. (Susan Ursula E.)
Z.O.E. (Zoe Ocean E.)
FA.L.F. (Alfred Leonard F.)
D.U.F. (Duffy Ultan F.)
J.E.F. (Jeffrey Elliott F.)
GM.E.G. (Megan Emiliana G.)
P.E.G. (Peggy Elise G.)
R.E.G. (Reggie Elmo G.)
R.O.G. (Roger Olav G.)
HA.S.H. (Ashton Samuel H.)
IA.B.I. (Abigail Bailey I.)
A.L.I. (Alison Layla I.)
A.M.I. (Ami May I.)
A.R.I. (Ariana Rafaela I.)
A.V.I. (Avi Vincent I.)
E.D.I. (Edith Daisy I.)
E.L.I. (Elijah Logan I.)
E.V.I. (Evie Venetia I.)
J.O.I. (Joi Olivia I.)
K.A.I. (Kai Alexander I.)
O.L.I. (Oliver Lennox I.)
JR.A.J. (Rajesh Ajay J.)
KM.A.K. (Makayla Ashley K.)
O.A.K. (Oakley Atlas K.)
LC.A.L. (Callum Audley L.)
D.E.L. (Delaney Estelle L.)
G.I.L. (Gilbert Ishmael L.)
H.A.L. (Harry Archibald L.)
L.I.L. (Lillian Iva L.)
M.A.L. (Malcolm Angus L.)
M.E.L. (Melanie Eloisa L.)
M.O.L. (Molly Odette L.)
S.A.L. (Sally Angelica L.)
S.O.L. (Solomon Osborn L.)
V.A.L. (Valerie Annette L.)
W.I.L. (Willy Ingo L.)
Z.E.L. (Zelda Erin L.)
MC.A.M. (Cameron Aidan M.)
D.O.M. (Dominic Orson M.)
J.E.M. (Jemima Eleanor M.)
J.I.M. (James Irvin M.)
K.I.M. (Kimberly Imogene M.)
L.E.M. (Lemuel Emerson M.)
P.A.M. (Pamela Alys M.)
R.A.M. (Ramsey Archer M.)
S.A.M. (Samuel Aaron M.)
S.I.M. (Simon Isidore M.)
T.A.M. (Tammy Anita M.)
T.I.M. (Timothy Isaac M.)
T.O.M. (Thomas Owen M.)
NA.N.N. (Annie Nuala N.)
B.E.N. (Benjamin Ellis N.)
C.Y.N. (Cynthia Yelena N.)
D.A.N. (Daniel Avery N.)
D.O.N. (Donovan Oliver N.)
F.I.N. (Finley Ivor N.)
J.A.N. (Janice Andrina N.)
J.O.N. (Jonathan Octavian N.)
K.E.N. (Kenneth Eric N.)
L.E.N. (Leonard Earl N.)
L.Y.N. (Lynnette Yasmin N.)
N.A.N. (Nancy Azalea N.)
R.E.N. (Renato Elian N.)
R.O.N. (Ronald Ormond N.)
V.A.N. (Vanessa Athena N.)
W.I.N. (Winifred Inez N.)
Z.E.N. (Zenobia Evelyn N.)
OF.L.O. (Florence Lily O.)
L.E.O. (Leo Elton O.)
PC.A.P. (Caprice Amity P.)
K.I.P. (Kip Indigo P.)
QJ.A.Q. (Jaquan Anthony Q.)
R.A.Q. (Raquel Alaiah Q.)
RG.A.R. (Gareth Alfie R.)
SC.A.S. (Caspian Atticus S.)
G.U.S. (Gustavo Ulises S.)
J.E.S. (Jessica Esther S.)
L.E.S. (Lester Edward S.)
R.U.S. (Russell Upton S.)
W.E.S. (Wesley Elwood S.)
TA.R.T. (Arthur Roland T.)
C.A.T. (Catherine Aveline T.)
D.O.T. (Dorothy Olive T.)
M.A.T. (Matthew Alastair T.)
N.A.T. (Nathan Arnold T.)
P.A.T. (Patricia Ainsley T.)
UL.O.U. (Louisa Ophelia U.)
P.R.U. (Prudence Rhoda U.)
S.T.U. (Stuart Tucker U.)
T.R.U. (Trudie Rose U.)
VB.E.V. (Beverly Evangeline V.)
L.I.V. (Livia Indiana V.)
N.E.V. (Neville Eldon V.)
V.I.V. (Vivian Ingrid V.)
WL.A.W. (Lawson Amos W.)
L.E.W. (Lewis Edgar W.)
XB.A.X. (Baxter Andrew X.)
D.A.X. (Dax Alec X.)
D.E.X. (Dexter Edison X.)
J.A.X. (Jaxon Antony X.)
L.E.X. (Lexie Eliza X.)
M.A.X. (Maximus Alvin X.)
P.A.X. (Pax Amelia X.)
R.E.X. (Rex Elias X.)
R.O.X. (Roxanna Opal X.)
T.E.X. (Tex Emmanuel X.)
YA.M.Y. (Amy Michelle Y.)
G.U.Y. (Guy Urban Y.)
I.V.Y. (Ivy Verity Y.)
J.A.Y. (Jay Adam Y.)
J.O.Y. (Joyce Ondina Y.)
K.A.Y. (Katherine Addison Y.)
M.A.Y. (May Augusta Y.)
R.A.Y. (Raymond Adrian Y.)
R.O.Y. (Royce Oberon Y.)
S.K.Y. (Skylar Kerry Y.)
ZH.E.Z. (Hezekiah Ellery Z.)
J.E.Z. (Jezebel Eulalia Z.)
L.I.Z. (Lizzie Iris Z.)
K.I.Z. (Kizzy Isla Z.)
R.O.Z. (Rosalind Olga Z.)

Can you come up with other good ones? If so, please leave a comment!

Source: “So Named.” Toledo Blade 29 Jun. 1982: P-1.

Popular baby names in Austria, 2016

According to data released by Statistics Austria, the most popular baby names in the country in 2016 were Anna (and variants) and Lukas (and variants).

Here are Austria’s top 10 girl name-groups and top 10 boy name-groups of 2016:

Girl Name-Groups
1. Anna (plus 20 variants, including Jannah) – 2,204 baby girls
2. Sophie (plus 12 variants, including Zofia) – 1,564
3. Maria (plus 36 variants, including Mery and Mirja) – 1,356
4. Emilia (plus 13 variants, including Emmelie) – 1,150
5. Elena (plus 39 variants, including Aljona and Ilona) – 981
6. Emma (zero variants) – 808
7. Sarah (plus 9 variants, including Saara) – 803
8. Lena (plus 7 variants, including Lenja) – 783
9. Laura (zero variants) – 645
10. Mia (plus 1 variant) – 639

Boy Name-Groups
1. Lukas (plus 11 variants, including Lucca) – 1,520 baby boys
2. David (plus 11 variants, including Dawood) – 989
3. Elias (plus 31 variants, including Elijah and Ilyaz) – 981
4. Jakob (plus 19 variants, including Tiago and Jacques) – 890
5. Maximilian (plus 8 variants) – 838
6. Alexander (plus 31 variants, including Alechandro and Eskandar) – 832
7. Paul (plus 6 variants, including Paulus) – 826
8. Jonas (plus 11 variants, including Yunus) – 823
9. Tobias (plus 2 variants) – 790
10. Felix (plus 2 variants) – 686

In the boys’ top 10, the Felix group replaced the Leon group. In the girls’ top 10, there were no replacements. Here are the 2015 name-group rankings, if you’d like to compare.

In terms of non-combined spellings, the top two names were Anna and David:

Girl Names
1. Anna, 998 baby girls
2. Emma, 808
3. Marie, 710
4. Lena, 678
5. Sophia, 652
6. Laura, 645
7. Mia, 639
8. Sophie, 625
9. Emilia, 592
10. Lea and Valentina (tie), 529 each

Boy Names
1. David, 938 baby boys
2. Maximilian, 829
3. Lukas, 805
4. Tobias, 789
5. Paul, 785
6. Elias, 774
7. Jakob, 756
8. Jonas, 731
9. Alexander, 695
10. Felix, 686

Sources: Anna and Lukas were the most popular baby names in 2016, Anna und Lukas waren auch 2016 wieder die beliebtesten Babynamen