Ida
Ida was given to 209 girls in 2025, #1,120 among girls’ names; 188,695 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 34,300 Americans named Ida and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (18% of everyone recorded); the median is 71 years old and half are between 55 and 82.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Ida by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Ida mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Ida is “a female given name from the Germanic languages.” Its etymology gives the sense “work” (īd).
Also “a female given name from Sanskrit used in India.”
Short form of obsolete names beginning with Germanic īd “work”, used for both sexes in medieval England. It was revived in the 19th century, partly mistaken for a Greek name, for the Mount Ida of classical mythology.
/ˈaɪdə/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Ida?
#1,120 among girls’ names, 2025
Ida rose from #1,419 in 2015 to #1,120 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born rose from 0.09 to 0.13 per 1,000.
4,470 babies in 1918, the peak
Ida peaked in 1918, when 4,470 babies were given it (4,450 girls, #57 among girls’ names). The 209 births of 2025 are 5% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 209 | #1,120 | 0.13 |
| 2024 | 213 | #1,138 | 0.13 |
| 2023 | 203 | #1,180 | 0.13 |
| 2022 | 226 | #1,104 | 0.14 |
| 2021 | 222 | #1,113 | 0.14 |
| 2020 | 197 | #1,179 | 0.12 |
| 2019 | 184 | #1,264 | 0.11 |
| 2018 | 193 | #1,216 | 0.11 |
| 2017 | 180 | #1,305 | 0.10 |
| 2016 | 196 | #1,246 | 0.11 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 163 | #1,419 | 0.09 |
| 2014 | 149 | #1,496 | 0.08 |
| 2013 | 118 | #1,746 | 0.07 |
| 2012 | 101 | #1,946 | 0.06 |
| 2011 | 100 | #1,976 | 0.06 |
| 2010 | 104 | #1,931 | 0.06 |
| 2009 | 95 | #2,124 | 0.05 |
| 2008 | 103 | #2,023 | 0.05 |
| 2007 | 96 | #2,104 | 0.05 |
| 2006 | 85 | #2,254 | 0.04 |
| 2005 | 94 | #2,006 | 0.05 |
| 2004 | 83 | #2,161 | 0.05 |
| 2003 | 90 | #2,008 | 0.05 |
| 2002 | 80 | #2,114 | 0.04 |
| 2001 | 95 | #1,849 | 0.05 |
| 2000 | 96 | #1,802 | 0.05 |
| 1999 | 78 | #2,001 | 0.04 |
| 1998 | 101 | #1,611 | 0.06 |
| 1997 | 97 | #1,627 | 0.06 |
| 1996 | 104 | #1,531 | 0.06 |
| 1995 | 100 | #1,530 | 0.06 |
| 1994 | 108 | #1,465 | 0.06 |
| 1993 | 107 | #1,486 | 0.06 |
| 1992 | 136 | #1,258 | 0.07 |
| 1991 | 115 | #1,395 | 0.06 |
| 1990 | 121 | #1,327 | 0.06 |
| 1989 | 136 | #1,194 | 0.07 |
| 1988 | 162 | #1,009 | 0.09 |
| 1987 | 150 | #1,035 | 0.09 |
| 1986 | 156 | #996 | 0.09 |
| 1985 | 154 | #989 | 0.09 |
| 1984 | 157 | #937 | 0.09 |
| 1983 | 152 | #961 | 0.09 |
| 1982 | 205 | #789 | 0.12 |
| 1981 | 206 | #789 | 0.12 |
| 1980 | 209 | #786 | 0.13 |
| 1979 | 242 | #699 | 0.15 |
| 1978 | 219 | #722 | 0.14 |
| 1977 | 250 | #649 | 0.16 |
| 1976 | 219 | #679 | 0.15 |
| 1975 | 240 | #640 | 0.16 |
| 1974 | 303 | #554 | 0.21 |
| 1973 | 307 | #545 | 0.21 |
| 1972 | 326 | #522 | 0.21 |
| 1971 | 347 | #529 | 0.21 |
| 1970 | 385 | #510 | 0.22 |
| 1969 | 391 | #491 | 0.23 |
| 1968 | 401 | #479 | 0.24 |
| 1967 | 480 | #428 | 0.29 |
| 1966 | 514 | #409 | 0.30 |
| 1965 | 518 | #409 | 0.29 |
| 1964 | 577 | #406 | 0.30 |
| 1963 | 624 | #385 | 0.32 |
| 1962 | 658 | #366 | 0.33 |
| 1961 | 704 | #362 | 0.35 |
| 1960 | 738 | #357 | 0.36 |
| 1959 | 822 | #329 | 0.41 |
| 1958 | 792 | #334 | 0.39 |
| 1957 | 867 | #313 | 0.42 |
| 1956 | 932 | #288 | 0.46 |
| 1955 | 935 | #281 | 0.48 |
| 1954 | 1,063 | #253 | 0.55 |
| 1953 | 1,017 | #254 | 0.54 |
| 1952 | 1,061 | #242 | 0.57 |
| 1951 | 1,077 | #236 | 0.60 |
| 1950 | 1,195 | #217 | 0.70 |
| 1949 | 1,290 | #208 | 0.75 |
| 1948 | 1,303 | #205 | 0.77 |
| 1947 | 1,347 | #199 | 0.76 |
| 1946 | 1,389 | #184 | 0.88 |
| 1945 | 1,232 | #173 | 0.94 |
| 1944 | 1,335 | #166 | 1.0 |
| 1943 | 1,477 | #162 | 1.1 |
| 1942 | 1,621 | #153 | 1.2 |
| 1941 | 1,609 | #148 | 1.3 |
| 1940 | 1,688 | #144 | 1.5 |
| 1939 | 1,589 | #145 | 1.4 |
| 1938 | 1,724 | #141 | 1.6 |
| 1937 | 1,784 | #133 | 1.7 |
| 1936 | 1,802 | #130 | 1.7 |
| 1935 | 1,922 | #121 | 1.8 |
| 1934 | 1,972 | #118 | 1.9 |
| 1933 | 2,061 | #109 | 2.0 |
| 1932 | 2,317 | #105 | 2.2 |
| 1931 | 2,419 | #100 | 2.3 |
| 1930 | 2,643 | #94 | 2.3 |
| 1929 | 2,673 | #96 | 2.4 |
| 1928 | 2,994 | #87 | 2.6 |
| 1927 | 3,206 | #84 | 2.7 |
| 1926 | 3,285 | #82 | 2.8 |
| 1925 | 3,489 | #82 | 2.9 |
| 1924 | 3,861 | #70 | 3.1 |
| 1923 | 3,888 | #68 | 3.2 |
| 1922 | 3,987 | #65 | 3.3 |
| 1921 | 4,146 | #67 | 3.4 |
| 1920 | 4,090 | #66 | 3.4 |
| 1919 | 4,163 | #57 | 3.7 |
| 1918 | 4,450 | #57 | 3.8 |
| 1917 | 4,247 | #56 | 3.9 |
| 1916 | 4,364 | #54 | 4.2 |
| 1915 | 4,125 | #54 | 4.2 |
| 1914 | 3,561 | #49 | 4.7 |
| 1913 | 2,916 | #49 | 4.7 |
| 1912 | 2,740 | #45 | 4.9 |
| 1911 | 2,119 | #45 | 5.1 |
| 1910 | 2,107 | #47 | 5.3 |
| 1909 | 1,943 | #44 | 5.6 |
| 1908 | 1,952 | #43 | 5.8 |
| 1907 | 1,980 | #38 | 6.2 |
| 1906 | 1,753 | #43 | 5.9 |
| 1905 | 1,757 | #42 | 6.0 |
| 1904 | 1,751 | #38 | 6.4 |
| 1903 | 1,774 | #37 | 6.8 |
| 1902 | 1,836 | #34 | 7.0 |
| 1901 | 1,835 | #34 | 7.7 |
| 1900 | 2,285 | #30 | 7.6 |
| 1899 | 1,804 | #31 | 7.7 |
| 1898 | 2,090 | #29 | 8.1 |
| 1897 | 2,108 | #24 | 9.0 |
| 1896 | 2,159 | #24 | 9.1 |
| 1895 | 2,170 | #23 | 9.3 |
| 1894 | 2,195 | #21 | 9.8 |
| 1893 | 2,247 | #18 | 10.6 |
| 1892 | 2,259 | #17 | 10.6 |
| 1891 | 2,002 | #17 | 10.8 |
| 1890 | 2,178 | #16 | 11.4 |
| 1889 | 2,122 | #14 | 11.9 |
| 1888 | 2,229 | #12 | 12.5 |
| 1887 | 1,929 | #10 | 13.2 |
| 1886 | 2,049 | #7 | 14.2 |
| 1885 | 1,854 | #9 | 13.9 |
| 1884 | 1,882 | #7 | 14.6 |
| 1883 | 1,634 | #8 | 14.5 |
| 1882 | 1,673 | #7 | 15.5 |
| 1881 | 1,439 | #7 | 15.6 |
| 1880 | 1,472 | #7 | 16.2 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Ida a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Ida has been given almost only to girls: 766 boys in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Ida: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Ida, and how old are they?
34,300 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 18% of the 188,695 Americans ever recorded as Ida. The median Ida alive today is 71 years old; half are between 55 and 82.
The 2020 Census counted 40,120 people named Ida (39,972 women and girls, 148 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 43,078 born in the U.S. The Census count is 7% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 8,950 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 13,900 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 4,940 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 2,200 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 1,480 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 2,440 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Ida born?
The states with the most babies named Ida are New York, Texas and Pennsylvania, with 22% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 10,662 | #1,269 | 0.9× |
| Texas | 8,980 | #3,502 | 1.2× |
| Pennsylvania | 8,179 | #958 | 0.8× |
| Georgia | 6,200 | #1,267 | 1.5× |
| North Carolina | 5,704 | #1,547 | 1.3× |
| Alabama | 5,637 | not ranked | 1.6× |
| Mississippi | 5,540 | not ranked | 2.1× |
| South Carolina | 4,697 | not ranked | 1.7× |
| Louisiana | 4,430 | not ranked | 1.6× |
| Ohio | 4,347 | #911 | 0.7× |
Where Ida is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Ida is most over-represented in Mississippi: since 1910 it was given 2.1 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Ida with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 2 names spelled alike, given to 189,270 babies since 1880, Ida is the most given (100% of them). In 2025 it was given to 209 of their 255 babies (82%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Ida
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Ida and names like it
- Compare Ida and IdyBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1910sIda peaked in 1918.
- New York’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Ida since 1910.
- Germanic namesWiktionary’s origin for Ida: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1918The year the most babies were named Ida.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Ida alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with IMost given first.