Names / Girl names
Ilona
Current rank
#3,861
holding steady
All-time peak
#821
in 1946
First recorded
1909
in U.S. data
Children named
3,300
since 1909
Popularity over time
Annual U.S. children given the name · Peak #821 in 1946 · Source: Social Security Administration
Meaning & background
(ee-LOH-nah): Often linked through Helen-family brightness associations in Hungarian and other European usage. Elegant and underused. Stateside, it enters U.S. records in 1909. 1946 marked its high point, reaching #821. These days it lands below the top 1,000, so it still feels distinctive. Over 3,300 have carried it since records began.