Iona

femaleStatistical record

What official birth registration shows about Iona: which national registrars published it, in which years, and how its recorded position changed.

No researched meaning, origin or pronunciation yet — what that means.

Iona: Recorded since 1988, its highest recorded position is #83, and it stood at #544 in 2025.

4registrars recorded it
82times a registrar ranked it
38years from first to last
#83highest recorded position
18groupings it qualifies for

Region

Falling

among girls in England and Wales · 1996–2024

View as table

England and Wales · Girls rank by year
Year	Rank
1996	#293
1997	#251
1998	#268
1999	#217
2000	#199
2001	#271
2002	#282
2003	#297
2004	#321
2005	#317
2006	#271
2007	#314
2008	#333
2009	#343
2010	#376
2011	#375
2012	#412
2013	#434
2014	#341
2015	#372
2016	#427
2017	#394
2018	#380
2019	#399
2020	#439
2021	#416
2022	#472
2023	#477
2024	#451

VerifiedSource: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales.Confidence: high.

See all England and Wales names · Source: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales

What the data shows

FallingEngland and Wales · Girls

Recorded in official data among girls in Republic of Ireland in 25 of the 38 years from 1988 to 2025.

In 2024: #83 among girls in Scotland, #451 among girls in England and Wales.

Official data from 4 national registrars across 4 regions, 1988–2025 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1988
First recorded at #492 among girls in Republic of Ireland in 1988 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Republic of Ireland · Girls
Most recent2025
Most recently recorded at #544 among girls in Republic of Ireland, in 2025.
Republic of Ireland · Girls

Iona appears in 3 of the published lists Namewise holds. The longest record is England and Wales · Girls, with 29 ranked years and 3,682 births registered; the earliest is Republic of Ireland · Girls, from 1988.

Iona across 3 official records

Each registrar publishes its own list, so these figures are read down a row, never across one. A position in one country is not comparable with a position in another, and Namewise never combines them into a single ranking. The birth counts do not compare across rows either, for a different reason: England and Wales registers roughly thirty times as many births a year as Northern Ireland, so a larger total says which registrar recorded it as much as how widely the name was given.

Iona's first, highest and most recent recorded position in each official list, with the number of births each registrar registered with the name and its largest single year
Published list	First recorded	Highest	Most recent	Years recorded	Births registered	Most in one year
Republic of Ireland · Girls	#492 (1988)	#314 (2003)	#544 (2025)	25 of 38	139 (1988–2025)	11 (2008)
England and Wales · Girls	#293 (1996)	#199 (2000)	#451 (2024)	29 of 29	3,682 (1996–2024)	210 (2000)
Northern Ireland · Girls	#271 (1997)	#168 (2011)	#237 (2023)	27 of 27	159 (1997–2023)	12 (2011)

Iona by decade in England and Wales · Girls

Births registered with the name in each decade of this one list, with the number of years the list covers in that decade. Bars are scaled on births a year, which is the figure that compares between decades — a decade the list only partly covers has a smaller total without being a quieter decade. Figures belong to this registrar alone and do not carry to another.

Births registered with Iona in England and Wales · Girls, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1990s	612	4 of 10	153
2000sbusiest	1,453	10 of 10	145
2010s	1,151	10 of 10	115
2020s	466	5 of 10	93

Across England and Wales · Girls, the 2000s were its busiest decade, averaging 145 births a year.

Its sharpest single-year move came between 2000 and 2001, when recorded births fell by 67, from 210 to 143.

See the names England and Waleshas recorded the most births with →

Iona appears in

Groupings this name qualifies for under their own stated rules, from the same official statistics shown above.

Popularity data

Official popularity data is available for 4 regions, from 1988 to 2025. Highest recorded position: #83 in Scotland in 2024.

Iona's recorded popularity observations by year, region and administrative category, including rank, registered births, source confidence and when each region's data was last reviewed.
Year	Region	Category	Rank	Births registered	Confidence	Status
2024	England and Wales	female	#451	92	High	Verified
2023	England and Wales	female	#477	83	High	Verified
2022	England and Wales	female	#472	88	High	Verified
2021	England and Wales	female	#416	107	High	Verified
2020	England and Wales	female	#439	96	High	Verified
2019	England and Wales	female	#399	107	High	Verified
2018	England and Wales	female	#380	118	High	Verified
2017	England and Wales	female	#394	113	High	Verified
2016	England and Wales	female	#427	104	High	Verified
2015	England and Wales	female	#372	121	High	Verified
2014	England and Wales	female	#341	134	High	Verified
2013	England and Wales	female	#434	97	High	Verified
2012	England and Wales	female	#412	111	High	Verified
2011	England and Wales	female	#375	125	High	Verified
2010	England and Wales	female	#376	121	High	Verified
2009	England and Wales	female	#343	128	High	Verified
2008	England and Wales	female	#333	134	High	Verified
2007	England and Wales	female	#314	144	High	Verified
2006	England and Wales	female	#271	173	High	Verified
2005	England and Wales	female	#317	128	High	Verified
2004	England and Wales	female	#321	124	High	Verified
2003	England and Wales	female	#297	134	High	Verified
2002	England and Wales	female	#282	135	High	Verified
2001	England and Wales	female	#271	143	High	Verified
2000	England and Wales	female	#199	210	High	Verified
1999	England and Wales	female	#217	186	High	Verified
1998	England and Wales	female	#268	145	High	Verified
1997	England and Wales	female	#251	154	High	Verified
1996	England and Wales	female	#293	127	High	Verified
2023	Northern Ireland	female	#237	7	High	Verified
2022	Northern Ireland	female	#354	4	High	Verified
2021	Northern Ireland	female	#266	6	High	Verified
2020	Northern Ireland	female	#281	5	High	Verified
2019	Northern Ireland	female	#424	3	High	Verified
2018	Northern Ireland	female	#238	7	High	Verified
2017	Northern Ireland	female	#296	5	High	Verified
2016	Northern Ireland	female	#229	8	High	Verified
2015	Northern Ireland	female	#269	6	High	Verified
2014	Northern Ireland	female	#365	4	High	Verified
2013	Northern Ireland	female	#255	7	High	Verified
2012	Northern Ireland	female	#229	8	High	Verified
2011	Northern Ireland	female	#168	12	High	Verified
2010	Northern Ireland	female	#283	6	High	Verified
2009	Northern Ireland	female	#224	8	High	Verified
2008	Northern Ireland	female	#228	8	High	Verified
2007	Northern Ireland	female	#301	5	High	Verified
2006	Northern Ireland	female	#219	8	High	Verified
2005	Northern Ireland	female	#318	4	High	Verified
2004	Northern Ireland	female	#238	6	High	Verified
2003	Northern Ireland	female	#248	5	High	Verified
2002	Northern Ireland	female	#339	3	High	Verified
2001	Northern Ireland	female	#293	4	High	Verified
2000	Northern Ireland	female	#220	6	High	Verified
1999	Northern Ireland	female	#291	4	High	Verified
1998	Northern Ireland	female	#261	5	High	Verified
1997	Northern Ireland	female	#271	5	High	Verified
2025	Republic of Ireland	female	#544	6	High	Verified
2023	Republic of Ireland	female	#856	3	High	Verified
2022	Republic of Ireland	female	#747	4	High	Verified
2020	Republic of Ireland	female	#628	5	High	Verified
2017	Republic of Ireland	female	#524	7	High	Verified
2016	Republic of Ireland	female	#661	5	High	Verified
2015	Republic of Ireland	female	#581	6	High	Verified
2014	Republic of Ireland	female	#584	6	High	Verified
2013	Republic of Ireland	female	#587	6	High	Verified
2012	Republic of Ireland	female	#560	7	High	Verified
2011	Republic of Ireland	female	#612	6	High	Verified
2010	Republic of Ireland	female	#758	4	High	Verified
2009	Republic of Ireland	female	#582	6	High	Verified
2008	Republic of Ireland	female	#403	11	High	Verified
2007	Republic of Ireland	female	#505	7	High	Verified
2006	Republic of Ireland	female	#502	6	High	Verified
2004	Republic of Ireland	female	#576	4	High	Verified
2003	Republic of Ireland	female	#314	10	High	Verified
2002	Republic of Ireland	female	#620	3	High	Verified
2001	Republic of Ireland	female	#400	6	High	Verified
2000	Republic of Ireland	female	#465	4	High	Verified
1998	Republic of Ireland	female	#425	4	High	Verified
1997	Republic of Ireland	female	#394	6	High	Verified
1990	Republic of Ireland	female	#446	4	High	Verified
1988	Republic of Ireland	female	#492	3	High	Verified
2024	Scotland	female	#83	50	High	Verified

England and Wales hub — collected by Office for National Statistics
Northern Ireland hub — collected by NISRA
Republic of Ireland hub — collected by CSO Ireland
Scotland hub — collected by National Records of Scotland

See methodology and data sources for how popularity data is collected and what "confidence" means.

What the record shows

Recorded by 4 registrars between 1988 and 2025, ranked in 32 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #83, first reached in 2024.

It held a top-100 place in 1 year.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 210 births, registered in England and Wales in 2000.

Its record falls into 3 separate stretches, with a longest absence of 5 years.

A second registrar first ranked it in 1996, and 36 years separate the first registrar to record it from the last.

Every figure here is counted from the seven official registrars Namewise holds. A position is only ever a place within the list that published it, and a record that thins or stops is a fact about what registrars printed — never about how many children received the name.

Where to go next

Records with a comparable body of evidence, so the catalogue can be read outward from this one. Each group states the rule it was selected by.

Next in the catalogue

The records either side of this one alphabetically.

Iolo · #947, 29y
Ion · #393, 16y
Ionatan · #676, 17y
Ione · #1176, 29y

A comparable record

Records held by the same 4 registrars, over a similar number of ranked years, whose highest position is closest to this one. A similar body of evidence — never a claim that the names themselves are alike.

Khloe · #83, 29y
Renae · #83, 34y
Chester · #84, 29y
Ewan · #84, 32y

Also first recorded in the 1980s

Records whose earliest ranking in Namewise's registrar data also falls between 1980 and 1989.

Tyson · #82, 33y
Tilde · #81, 33y
Dillon · #86, 42y
Milo · #80, 31y

Iona was ranked #83 in Scotland · Girls in 2024. These are the names immediately either side of it on that published list — a fact about the registrar's own output, not a similarity judgement.

Iona and the names beside it

Two names in the same published list are measured on the same scale, in the same year, by the same registrar — so these are positions that genuinely passed each other, not a similarity judgement. Drawn from the 2,573 names with a recorded popularity standing (common, familiar, uncommon), so a name outside that set could have passed Iona without appearing here.

Iona moved ahead of

Cheryl Compare
In 2016 they stood at #612 and #550 in Republic of Ireland · Girls; by 2017 that had become #524 and #873.
Audrey Compare
In 2024 they stood at #856 and #856 in Republic of Ireland · Girls; by 2025 that had become #544 and #885.
Marianne Compare
In 2024 they stood at #747 and #747 in Republic of Ireland · Girls; by 2025 that had become #544 and #885.
Mona Compare
In 2002 they stood at #620 and #620 in Republic of Ireland · Girls; by 2003 that had become #314 and #655.

Moved ahead of Iona

Charlie Compare
In 2008 they stood at #403 and #469 in Republic of Ireland · Girls; by 2009 that had become #582 and #284.
Sadie Compare
In 2001 they stood at #400 and #441 in Republic of Ireland · Girls; by 2002 that had become #620 and #352.
Madison Compare
In 2000 they stood at #220 and #248 in Northern Ireland · Girls; by 2001 that had become #293 and #103.
Maeve Compare
In 2018 they stood at #380 and #507 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2019 that had become #399 and #218.

Moved the opposite way to Iona

Ada Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Iona went from #293 to #451 while Ada went from #2683 to #40.
Alma Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Iona went from #293 to #451 while Alma went from #2096 to #234.
Alyssa Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Iona went from #293 to #451 while Alyssa went from #783 to #285.
Amalie Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Iona went from #293 to #451 while Amalie went from #2096 to #1128.

Moved the same way as Iona

Diane Compare
Between 1988 and 2023 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Iona went from #492 to #856 and Diane from #191 to #727.
Abigail Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Iona went from #293 to #451 and Abigail from #21 to #154.
Aimee Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Iona went from #293 to #451 and Aimee from #70 to #1603.
Aisling Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Iona went from #293 to #451 and Aisling from #440 to #2000.

What's not yet available

Meaning
Origin
Pronunciation
Nicknames and spelling variants

Absence from this list does not mean the name isn't genuinely meaningful or widely used — only that Namewise hasn't sourced and reviewed that content yet. Absence from a specific year or geography above does not prove zero use there either; official statistics only publish names above a minimum threshold.

Official popularity data is available for 4 regions, from 1988 to 2025. Highest recorded position: #83 in Scotland in 2024. Source data last verified 2026-07-21.

Iona

Iona at a glance

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Iona across 3 official records

Iona by decade in England and Wales · Girls

Iona appears in

Popularity data

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1980s

Names published alongside Iona

Iona and the names beside it

Iona moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Iona

Moved the opposite way to Iona

Moved the same way as Iona

Iona at a glance

Iona across 3 official records

Iona by decade in England and Wales · Girls

Iona appears in

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1980s

Names published alongside Iona

Iona and the names beside it

Iona moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Iona

Moved the opposite way to Iona

Moved the same way as Iona