Given name & surname · also Old Norse, Latin
Iona
“woman from the island”
Iona is used as a given name and a surname. One Greek interpretation is “woman from the island.”
Original GreekΙωνά
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Greek interpretation is “woman from the island.”
Where it comes from
This spelling has been associated with Latin and Old Norse naming traditions.
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
Iona through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 12,261
- 10 boys · 12,251 girls
- Most popular year
- 1918
- 404 babies
- 2025
- 65
- #2,667 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +9%
- Steady
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 65 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 2,667 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 7.6% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 404 in 1918. In 2025, New York had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (7). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 3,833 as a first name in 2020; 183 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Iona’s family of names
In Hawaiian usage, Iona has a conventional equivalent in the English form Jonah. In Hawaiian usage, Iona has a conventional equivalent in the German form Jonas. Iona has a related form in Ianna.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Iona has relatives in 4 languages. Lines run from its Ancient Greek roots to each of them.
3 related names in 4 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 5
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 6
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Iona
- Iona YakirSoviet military commander (1896–1937)
- Iona AndersonAustralian swimmerborn 2005
- Iona BrownBritish violinist and conductor (1941–2004)
- Iona MoirBritish track cyclistborn 2003
- Iona FyfeScottish singer which use the Scotsborn 1998
- Iona CampagnoloCanadian politician1932–2024
- Annabelle NeilsonBritish socialite, fashion model, author, and television personality (1969–2018)
- Iona MorrisAmerican actressborn 1957
- Iona WynterJamaican triathleteborn 1968
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Iona, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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