Iona
From the Hebridean island of Iona, site of Columba's monastery; the island's Latin name Ioua was misread at some point, and that error produced the modern spelling.
Iona in 2025
Iona was given to 65 babies in the United States in 2025, making it the 4,709th most popular name of the year. That is roughly one in every 51,005 babies born.
The history of Iona
Iona reached its highest point in 1918, when 404 babies were given the name, ranking 587th that year. Its best-ever ranking was 537th, in 1904.
Across the 146 years of records since 1880, 12,261 babies have been named Iona. Half of them were born before 1926, which places the name's centre of gravity with the Greatest Generation.
Iona by decade
| Decade | Babies named Iona | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 224 | 668 |
| 1890s | 455 | 615 |
| 1900s | 838 | 537 |
| 1910s | 2,362 | 561 |
| 1920s | 3,151 | 634 |
| 1930s | 1,747 | 768 |
| 1940s | 887 | 1,256 |
| 1950s | 610 | 1,746 |
| 1960s | 290 | 2,939 |
| 1970s | 198 | 4,255 |
| 1980s | 139 | 5,804 |
| 1990s | 126 | 7,509 |
| 2000s | 310 | 6,534 |
| 2010s | 543 | 4,335 |
| 2020s | 381 | 4,292 |
Where Iona is heading
Iona has held roughly steady over the past decade, from 65 babies in 2015 to 65 in 2025.
Names like Iona
Names that rose and fell at the same time as Iona.