Ilona
Feminine
Ilona is the Hungarian form of Helen, and it has been the national women's name in Hungary for centuries — the one in the folk tales and the ballads.
How old is the name Ilona?
Ilona first appears in US birth records in 1909 — 116 years ago. The typical Ilona alive today was born around 1962, making them about 63 years old. About 2,600 people named Ilona are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Ilona most popular?
Ilona peaked in 1946, reaching #818 nationally. Today it ranks #3832, 3,014 places below that high. See the whole 1946 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Helena to Ilona
The story of Ilona
Hungarian took Helena and reshaped it entirely, as Hungarian does with borrowed names, giving Ilona and its household form Ilka. Tündér Ilona, Fairy Ilona, is a figure of Hungarian folk tale, and the name has been among the country's most-used for a very long time. It spread to Finland, Poland and Germany, and reaches American records with Hungarian emigration.
Meaningnot established
Not established
Helen's origin is genuinely unsettled. The most-cited reading connects it to a Greek root for a torch or light; a word for a wicker basket and a pre-Greek source have also been proposed. Ilona inherits the uncertainty.
How the name formed
- Helena
- Ilona
Related forms: Ilona · Helen · Ilona
Pronouncing Ilona
EE-loh-nah
Three syllables; Hungarian always stresses the first. English speakers often say ih-LOH-nah.
Nicknames for Ilona
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
- 1909
- Most girls named
- 194383 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #818reached in 1946
- Change vs 2023
- +123.5%38 in 2025, from 17
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.
Ilona in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Ilona in Hungarian — same name
- Helen in English — related form
- Ilona in Finnish — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Pennsylvania.
Ilonas among us
people named Ilona are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 42,297 born in 2025 was named Ilona
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Isobel test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Ilona's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Isobel climbed just as high around 1916, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Isobel's path sketches the road Ilona is walking now.
Ilona 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
Where Ilona is headed
Ilona should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind. Its history is short or jumpy, though, so read this as a sketch rather than a promise.
Low confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Ilona beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Ilona in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A very deep record in Hungarian usage, including in folk tradition.
- Ilka and Lona are both established short forms.
- Five letters and three syllables, quick to write.
- The stress is unsettled between the Hungarian and English readings.
- The meaning is genuinely unknown, inherited from Helen.
- It is close to Iona, a Scottish island name, in an English ear.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Ilona to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Ilona? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Ilona
Feminine · #3832 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Ilonas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 2,600 people named Ilona are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Ilona in 2025?
- Ilona ranks #3832 among US girl names in 2025, with 38 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Ilona?
- About 1 in every 42,297 US girls born in 2025 was named Ilona — 38 in all.
- Will my child share the name Ilona with classmates?
- Ilona will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Ilona
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Nohemi#3832 · Yadira#3832 · Quincey#3832 · Yohanna#3832 · Aurielle#3832 · Anslee#3832 · Anagha#3832 · Corrine#3832
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Ilona? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Ilona and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle