Illa
Feminine
Every definite article in the Romance languages comes from the Latin word for that. Illa, that one, gave French la, Spanish la, Italian la and Portuguese a; the masculine ille gave le, el, il and o. Latin had no articles at all, so its descendants built them from a demonstrative.
How old is the name Illa?
Illa first appears in US birth records in 1898 — 127 years ago. The typical Illa alive today was born around 1931, making them about 94 years old. About 600 people named Illa are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Illa most popular?
Illa peaked in 1926, reaching #980 nationally. Today it ranks #9457, 8,477 places below that high. See the whole 1926 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Ella to Illa
The story of Illa
Classical Latin managed without a definite article, using demonstratives when it needed to point: hic, this, iste, that of yours, ille and illa, that one over there. As spoken Latin developed into the Romance languages, ille and illa were used more and more often to mark something already mentioned, weakened until they carried no pointing force at all, and became articles. French took the second syllable of illa for la and of ille for le. Spanish and Italian did the same to give la and el, la and il. Portuguese wore them down to a and o. The same word also produced the third-person pronouns, il and elle in French, el and ella in Spanish. So the commonest words in half the languages of Europe are the ruins of a Latin demonstrative that meant that one, over there.
Meaningnot established
Not established
Illa in American records is most likely a variant of Ella or Ila, both of which have their own histories: Ella from Germanic names in Ali-, and Ila from a place name or from Isla. The Latin word illa, that one, is not the source, though the spellings coincide exactly. The peak is 1926.
How the name formed
- Ella
- Illa
Related forms: Ella · Ila
Pronouncing Illa
IL-ah
Two syllables, stress on the first. Some families say EYE-lah. Latin illa is said EEL-lah with a long doubled l.
Nicknames for Illa
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1898
- Most girls named
- 192658 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #980reached in 1926
- Change vs 2023
- −33.3%10 in 2025, from 15
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Illa in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Ella in English — related form
- Ila in English — related form
Illas among us
people named Illa are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 160,727 born in 2025 was named Illa
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Illa
- #9457
- Illa on the 2025 chart
- #285
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Illa went to 10 girls in 2025, but Iyla, Ila and Iylah and the rest below are the same name said out loud. Together the 5 spellings went to 1,116, which makes it the 285th most-given girls’ name of the year — 9,172 places above the chart.
About 1 girl in 1,440 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 160,727 for Illa itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Verta test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Illa's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Verta climbed just as high around 1902, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Verta's path sketches the road Illa is walking now.
Illa sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Illa beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Illa in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Four letters and two syllables, as compact as a name gets.
- Ella is available as the commoner related form.
- The vowels are simple.
- The first syllable spells an English word meaning sick.
- Ella and Ila are both far commoner.
- The first vowel has two possible readings.
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Illa
Feminine · #9457 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Illas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 600 people named Illa are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Illa?
- Illa is one of 5 recorded spellings. Iyla is the more common one — 572 births in 2025 against 10 for Illa.
- How popular is the name Illa in 2025?
- Illa ranks #9457 among US girl names in 2025, with 10 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Illa?
- About 1 in every 160,727 US girls born in 2025 was named Illa — 10 in all.
- Will my child share the name Illa with classmates?
- Illa will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Illa
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Leta#9457 · Inga#9457 · Delphia#9457 · Cammie#9457 · Lisandra#9457 · Amee#9457 · Venecia#9457 · Annetta#9457
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Illa? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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