How rare is the name Iona?

3,833 people in the United States have the first name Iona, about 1 in 78,798. It ranks #4,740 of 53,615 first names in the 2020 Census, tied with 3 others.

first name

IONA

#4,740

of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census

People
3,833
About
1 in 78,798
This common or more
84.4%
Who bears it

Of the 3,833 people named Iona, 61.5% reported their origin as White, 24.2% as Black and 5.5% as two or more races. 98.7% are female. These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.

Iona peaked in 1918, when 404 babies got the name.

Births per year, SSA records 1880–2025
18802025
Peak year
1918
Births that year
404
In 2025*
65 ▼84%
Recorded as
almost entirely female

At least 12,261 babies have been given the name since 1880. Years SSA withheld, because fewer than 5 were born, are skipped rather than drawn as zero. * 2025 is the newest year published and it undercounts: a card application is filed some time after a birth.

Iona by decade

Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 1900s, when it ranked #573. The largest share of babies named Iona, 46.6%, were born between 1901 and 1927, the Greatest Generation's birth years.

1880s#791224
1890s#662455
1900s#573838
1910s#6482,362
1920s#7023,151
1930s#9031,747
1940s#1,487887
1950s#2,158610
1960s#3,566290
1970s#5,387198
1980s#8,084139
1990s#11,154126
2000s#7,430310
2010s#5,341543
2020s#4,760381
Before 19016.2%
Greatest Generation 1901–2746.6%
Silent Generation 1928–4523.5%
Baby boom 1946–648.9%
Generation X 1965–802.7%
Millennials 1981–961.5%
Generation Z 1997–124%
2013 and later6.5%

Rank counts both sexes together, among every name SSA recorded that decade; the number under it is births. The 2020s run only to 2025. Generation years follow Pew Research Center, which has not named a generation after 2012.

Where Iona is most common

Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Iona has been most common in South Dakota (4.2×), Nebraska (4×), and Iowa (3.6×), and least common in Michigan (0.27×).

6,602 births recorded by state, 1910–2025. 2× means twice as common as nationally. States with fewer than 30 such births are left blank, and SSA withholds any year with fewer than 5 in a state, so small states read low.

Exactly as common as Iona

3 other first names also have 3,833 people.

#4,740 Bayleigh · 3,833#4,740 Camelia · 3,833#4,740 Manal · 3,833

Either side of Iona

#4,740 Bayleigh · 3,833#4,740 Camelia · 3,833#4,740 Manal · 3,833#4,744 Dejuan · 3,831

Spelled almost the same

5 first names in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Iona, most common first.

#6,425 Ione · 2,498#8,461 Ion · 1,714#8,942 Ioana · 1,589#34,364 Ionna · 238#50,640 Ionia · 118

Also a last name

As a last name, Iona ranks #104,276 of 156,621, with 183 people. See Iona as a last name

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