US rank #2768 Girls' name Peak 1918 12,186 births

Iona — #2768 US girls' name

12,186 babies named Iona in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1918. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.

1880s2241890s4551900s8381910s23621920s31511930s17471940s8871950s6101960s2901970s1981980s1391990s1262000s3052010s5432020s311
#2768
of 17,661 girls in use

More common than 84% of names given to girls today.

1920s
Peak decade

26% of everyone ever named Iona was born in this single decade.

1918
Single peak year

404 babies were named Iona in 1918 — its busiest year on record.

What the Data Says About Iona

The Social Security Administration has registered 12,186 babies named Iona between 1880 and 2024, spanning 145 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a girl's name, Iona currently holds the #2768 rank among girls for 2024. The name reached its historical peak in 1918, when 404 babies received it in a single year.

Decade-level aggregation shows that Iona performed strongest in the 1920s, accumulating 3,151 births during that ten-year window. Across the 15 decades of recorded activity, Iona shows a clear decline from its mid-century high. Geographically, the name is most concentrated in Illinois, which accounts for 487 births — the largest state-level total in the dataset — followed by Ohio and Pennsylvania. In total, SSA state-level files list Iona in 40 of the 51 U.S. reporting jurisdictions.

No etymological entry is currently available for Iona in our reference dataset. These figures derive from SSA's annual national and state-level name files, which include any name appearing at least five times in a given year or state-year; names below that threshold are suppressed for privacy and therefore excluded from the totals shown here. The 12,186 total represents a lower bound — actual usage may be higher in years or states where the count fell below the disclosure floor. This page is provided for informational and research purposes only and does not constitute personal, legal, or naming advice.

Iona at a glance

Outside the top 1,000

Total births

12,186

Since 1880

145 years of records

Peak year

1918

404 births that year

Strongest decade: 1920s

Current rank

#2,768

Among girls

As of 2024

Active since

1880

Recorded for 145 years

Last year on file: 2024

Iona popularity over time — girls

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 2024–1880

Outside the top 1,000
Peak year (1918)
404
Annual births at peak — across 145 years of records
-1000100200300400500 202420051986196719481929191018911880 18

Iona popularity over time — boys

10 total births recorded since 2008 (Iona as boys' name)

Unisex variant — 10 births
5 20242008 5

Iona by decade

Total births in each ten-year window — peak vs trough at a glance

Peak: 1920s
Peak decade
1920s
3,151 births that decade — 26% of Iona's all-time total
1880s2241890s4551900s8381910s23621920s31511930s17471940s8871950s6101960s2901970s1981980s1391990s1262000s3052010s5432020s311

Iona by state

Where Iona concentrates geographically — total births since 1880

Geographically diffuse
Top 8 states by recorded births for the name Iona
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 Illinois
487 4.0%
#2 Ohio
487 4.0%
#3 Pennsylvania
441 3.6%
#4 New York
388 3.2%
#5 Texas
381 3.1%
#6 Iowa
318 2.6%
#7 Louisiana
315 2.6%
#8 Missouri
308 2.5%
Illinois share of Iona's total US births 4.0%
Even split

487 of 12,186 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 40 reporting states.

Iona appears in 40 states. Explore state details →

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Iona?
12,186 babies have been named Iona since 1880. It currently ranks #2768 among girls. The peak year was 1918 with 404 births.
When was Iona most popular?
Iona was most popular in the 1920s decade with 3,151 total births. The single peak year was 1918.
Where is Iona most popular?
The top states for the name Iona are Illinois (487 births), Ohio (487 births), Pennsylvania (441 births).
How long has the name Iona been used?
Iona has been recorded in Social Security data since 1880, spanning 145 years of data through 2024.
What names are similar to Iona?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Ione, Ionia, Ionna, Ioni, and 1 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for girls.

Data Sources

Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).

Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications — National Data, 1880–2024 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames). National-level data includes all names with 5 or more occurrences in a given year.

State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names — State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip). Includes all names with 5 or more occurrences per state per year; rarer names are excluded for privacy.