Given name & surname · also Latin, Irish
Una
“one who is pure; chaste”
Una is a form of Agnes. One Greek interpretation is “one who is pure; chaste.”
Original IrishÚna
Meaning & origin
What it means
Una is a form of Agnes. One Greek interpretation is “one who is pure; chaste.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
A possible origin is Latin, although the derivation remains uncertain.
How it developed
Una is used as a form of Agnes.
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
Una through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 8,108
- 0 boys · 8,108 girls
- Most popular year
- 1921
- 217 babies
- 2025
- 49
- #3,245 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −6%
- Steady
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 49 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 3,245 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 6.1% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 217 in 1921. 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 3,568 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.
Una’s family of names
In English usage, Una shares an earlier linguistic root with Oona. Una is a form of Agnes. Una has an English adaptation in Winifred.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Una has relatives in 4 languages. Lines run from its Latin roots to each of them.
4 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.
Across languages 11
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- Únasource · Irish
- Winifredanglicized form
- Junoanglicized form
- Oonadoublet · English
- Eunaanglicized form
- Irishoriginal
- Unimasculine form · Icelandic
- Ùnaequivalent
Show 3 moreShow fewer
See also 1
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Una
- Una MerkelAmerican actress (1903–1986)
- Una StubbsEnglish actress, television personality, and former dancer (1937-2021)
- Una O'ConnorIrish actress (1880–1959)
- Una HealyIrish singer, songwriter and musicianborn 1981
- Una Mae CarlisleAmerican jazz singer, pianist, and songwriter (1915–1956)
- Una MarsonJamaican writer (1905-1965)
- Una ChiItalian writer and translator (1942-2021)
- Vivienne Cassie CooperNew Zealand planktologist and botanist (1926-2021)
- Una MorrisJamaican sprinterborn 1947
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
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If you love Una, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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