Given name · also Irish
Fiona
“one who is fair; a whiteshouldered woman”
Fiona is a literary formation built on a Gaelic element meaning “white” or “fair.”
Original IrishFionn
Meaning & origin
What it means
One interpretation is “one who is fair; a whiteshouldered woman.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Irish.
How it developed
In French usage, Fiona developed from Fionn.
The story
James Macpherson is credited with first using Fiona. The writer William Sharp later adopted Fiona Macleod as a pen name, adding another literary chapter to its history.
Fiona through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 33,964
- 5 boys · 33,959 girls
- Most popular year
- 2017
- 1,683 babies
- 2025
- 654
- #470 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −41%
- Cooling
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 654 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 470 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 40.5% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 1,683 in 2017. In 2025, New York had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (62). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 32,179 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Fiona’s family of names
In English usage, Fiona has a diminutive in Fee. In French usage, Fiona developed from the Irish form Fionn. Fiona has a related form in Fionna.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Fiona has relatives in 6 languages. Lines run from its Irish roots to each of them.
Irishwhere Fiona comes from · 1 name
Nicknames & forms 17
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 3
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 10
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- VionaDutch
- Feequivalent
- Phionarelated form
- Ffionequivalent
- Foyequivalent
- Finaequivalent
- Féequivalent
- Fionnghalequivalent
Show 2 moreShow fewer
See also 4
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Fiona
- Fiona AppleAmerican musician (born 1977)
- Fiona ShawIrish actress (born 1958)
- Fiona MayBritish-born Italian long jumperborn 1969
- Fiona GrahamAustralian anthropologist, geisha (1961–2023)
- Fiona DourifAmerican actress and producer (born 1981)
- Fiona FerroFrench tennis playerborn 1997
- Fiona GubelmannAmerican actress (born 1980)
- Fiona FullertonBritish actress and singerborn 1956
- Fiona BruceBritish television producer, newsreader, presenterborn 1964
Characters named Fiona: Fiona Volpe (the James Bond film Thunderball).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Fiona, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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Riley
“from the rye clearing; a courageous woman”
22% boys · 78% girls
Cordelia
“a good-hearted woman; a woman of honesty”
>99% girls