Given name & surname · also Indian
Ila
“of the earth”·“from the island”
Ila is used as a given name and a surname. Interpretations include “of the earth” and “from the island”. These belong to different or overlapping naming contexts.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Interpretations include “of the earth” and “from the island”. These belong to different or overlapping naming contexts.
Where it comes from
This spelling has been associated with Indian and French naming traditions.
How it developed
In Hungarian usage, Ila is a diminutive of Ilona.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Ila through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 25,120
- 60 boys · 25,060 girls
- Most popular year
- 1925
- 649 babies
- 2025
- 390
- #718 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +79%
- Rising fast
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 390 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 718 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 78.8% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 642 in 1925. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (35). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 8,057 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.
Ila’s family of names
In Hungarian usage, Ila is a diminutive of Ilona. Ila has a related form in Ilsa. Ila has a related form in Ilanis.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Ila has relatives in 3 languages. Lines run from its French roots to each of them.
3 related names in 3 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 4
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 5
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 1
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Ila
- Ila ArunIndian actress and singerborn 1954
- Ila MitraBangladeshi activist1925–2002
- Ila Arab MehtaGujarati novelist and story writer from Indiaborn 1938
- Ila PatnaikIndian economist and journalist
- Ila Lóthactress1900–1975
- Ila LoetscherAmerican aviator and conservationist (1904-2000)
- Ila PantIndian politicianborn 1938
- Ila GhoseWest Bengal's first woman engineer (1930–2019)
- Ila BêkaItalian film director and part of the architectural film-making duo (born 1967)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
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