Una

femaleIrish/Scottish Gaelic, with a possible independent Latin connection

The Anglicized form of Irish Úna or Scottish Ùna; also connects to the Latin feminine 'una' of 'unus' ('one'). Gained literary prominence through Edmund Spenser's 1590 poem The Faerie Queene.

Origin: Irish/Scottish Gaelic, with a possible independent Latin connection

Official popularity data is available for 5 regions, from 1961 to 2025. Highest recorded position: #74 in Republic of Ireland in 1966. See regions.

Una: Recorded since 1961, it reached #74 in 1966, and it stood at #218 in 2025.

5registrars recorded it
170times a registrar ranked it
65years from first to last
#74highest recorded position
25groupings it qualifies for

OO-nuh/ˈuː.nə/

Compare Una Run Name Checker on Una

Data Confidence

Evidence: HighCompleteness: CompleteEditorial review: 2026-07-21

Confidence in the evidencebehind this name's data — never a rating of the name itself, and never affected by how well it matches your preferences. How this is assessed

Because: backed by officially or academically authoritative sources, recently verified, popularity data covers multiple regions.

Source authority

Averaged from the real per-claim source-authority assessments already computed for this name's meaning/origin/pronunciation/popularity evidence.

Independent corroboration

Averaged from the real per-claim supporting-source counts already computed for this name's evidence.

See full evidence assessment (8 dimensions, 1 not yet tracked)

Source agreement

No recorded source disagreement for this name's meanings or origins.

Recency

Calculated from how long ago this record was last verified (2026-07-21), against a 270-day staleness threshold.

Geographic relevance

Calculated from the number of geographies with official popularity data (5) — broader official coverage means the evidence base is relevant to more of where the name is actually used.

Completeness

Calculated from how many of the expected data sections (variants, similar names, popularity, notable usage, IPA pronunciation) are actually populated for this name.

Direct observation vs. inference

Averaged from the real per-claim direct-observation-vs-inference ratios already computed for this name's evidence.

Identity & variant resolution quality

Cross-source identity and variant resolution requires HEKNO Knowledge, which isn't connected yet.

Name Characteristics

How these are calculated

Descriptive attributes of the name itself — not a confidence measurement, and not an overall quality score. Namewise doesn't approve or disapprove of names.

Pronunciation clarity

Editorial judgement of how consistently this name is pronounced correctly on first read, mapped from an easy/moderate/variable rating to a number. Describes the name — not a measure of evidence confidence.

Spelling simplicity

Calculated directly from the name's spelling: shorter names with fewer irregular letter clusters score higher. A disclosed formula, not an editorial opinion — and not a confidence measurement.

Recorded regional spread

Derived from how many geographies' official statistics record this name. It measures where the name is registered, not how well-known it feels to people living there.

International spread

Derived from the same official statistical coverage, scaled to reflect how widely the name crosses national datasets. Not a measure of how easily it is understood in another language.

Trend stability

Derived from the name's traditional/modern classification and its current popularity trend direction.

Overview

Origin: Irish/Scottish Gaelic, with a possible independent Latin connection
Meaning: The Anglicized form of Irish Úna or Scottish Ùna; also connects to the Latin feminine 'una' of 'unus' ('one'). Gained literary prominence through Edmund Spenser's 1590 poem The Faerie Queene.
Pronunciation: OO-nuh
Syllables: 2
Common nicknames: None recorded
Classification: Traditional & modern
Gender usage: female
Language family: Irish/Scottish Gaelic, with a possible independent Latin connection

Popularity

Region

Rising

among girls in England and Wales · 1996–2025

View as table

England and Wales · Girls rank by year
Year	Rank
1996	#2096
1997	#2411
1998	#1392
1999	#2444
2000	#1688
2001	#2226
2002	#1928
2003	#2191
2004	#2112
2005	#1589
2006	#4157
2007	#1965
2008	#2022
2009	#1596
2010	#1294
2011	#1149
2012	#1075
2013	#900
2014	#802
2015	#775
2016	#744
2017	#637
2018	#587
2019	#582
2020	#683
2021	#581
2022	#591
2023	#523
2024	#565
2025	#473

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

RisingEngland and Wales · Girls

Recorded in official data among girls in Norway in 54 of the 65 years from 1961 to 2025.

In 2025: #218 among girls in Norway, #473 among girls in England and Wales, #718 among girls in Republic of Ireland.

Official data from 5 national registrars across 5 regions, 1961–2025 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1961
First recorded at #508 among girls in Norway in 1961 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Norway · Girls
Most recent2025
Most recently recorded at #473 among girls in England and Wales, in 2025.
England and Wales · Girls

Una appears in 4 of the published lists Namewise holds. The longest record is Republic of Ireland · Girls, with 60 ranked years and 2,499 births registered; the earliest is Norway · Girls, from 1961.

Una across 4 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.

Una'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
Norway · Girls	#508 (1961)	#153 (2003)	#218 (2025)	54 of 65	820 (1961–2025)	40 (2003)
Republic of Ireland · Girls	#87 (1964)	#74 (1966)	#718 (2025)	60 of 62	2,499 (1964–2025)	97 (1966)
England and Wales · Girls	#2096 (1996)	#473 (2025)	#473 (2025)	30 of 30	1,029 (1996–2025)	84 (2025)
Northern Ireland · Girls	#161 (1997)	#142 (2023)	#227 (2024)	25 of 28	167 (1997–2024)	14 (2023)

Una by decade in Republic of Ireland · 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 Una in Republic of Ireland · Girls, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1960sbusiest	499	6 of 10	83
1970s	834	10 of 10	83
1980s	569	10 of 10	57
1990s	250	10 of 10	25
2000s	154	10 of 10	15
2010s	171	10 of 10	17
2020s	22	4 of 10	6

Across Republic of Ireland · Girls, the 1960s were its busiest decade — the 6 years of it this list covers, averaging 83 births a year.

See the names Republic of Irelandhas recorded the most births with →

Una appears in

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

What the record shows

Recorded by 5 registrars between 1961 and 2025, ranked in 63 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #74, first reached in 1966.

It held a top-100 place in 12 years, 10 of them consecutive.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 97 births, registered in Republic of Ireland in 1966.

Its record falls into 2 separate stretches, with a longest absence of 2 years.

A second registrar first ranked it in 1964, and 63 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.

Una was ranked #74 in Republic of Ireland · Girls in 1966. 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.

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.

Umrah · #2673, 12y
Umut · #1000, 30y
Unais · #1851, 17y
Unaysah · #2215, 23y

A comparable record

Records held by the same 5 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.

Dorothy · #75, 65y
Lawrence · #77, 67y
Kelvin · #78, 67y
Philippa · #69, 62y

Also first recorded in the 1960s

Records whose earliest ranking in Namewise's registrar data also falls between 1960 and 1969.

Carla · #74, 61y
Sorcha · #74, 58y
Jemma · #73, 53y
Karol · #75, 51y

Una 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 2,577 names with a recorded popularity standing (common, familiar, uncommon), so a name outside that set could have passed Una without appearing here.

Una moved ahead of

Debra
In 2007 they stood at #4157 and #4157 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2008 that had become #2022 and #5545.
Helene
In 2006 they stood at #4157 and #4157 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2007 that had become #1965 and #5201.
Lynette
In 2008 they stood at #4157 and #2509 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2009 that had become #1596 and #4564.
Ryan
In 2003 they stood at #2411 and #2411 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2004 that had become #2112 and #4598.

Moved ahead of Una

Harper
In 2005 they stood at #1589 and #2682 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2006 that had become #4157 and #2137.
Audrey
In 1996 they stood at #2096 and #2683 in England and Wales · Girls; by 1997 that had become #2411 and #1666.
Aria
In 2002 they stood at #1928 and #2540 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2003 that had become #2191 and #1472.
Jade
In 2017 they stood at #233 and #241 in Republic of Ireland · Girls; by 2018 that had become #896 and #200.

Moved the opposite way to Una

Åse
Between 1961 and 2025 in Norway · Girls, Una went from #508 to #218 while Åse went from #40 to #93.
Aud
Between 1961 and 2025 in Norway · Girls, Una went from #508 to #218 while Aud went from #42 to #427.
Bjørg
Between 1961 and 2025 in Norway · Girls, Una went from #508 to #218 while Bjørg went from #38 to #369.
Else
Between 1961 and 2025 in Norway · Girls, Una went from #508 to #218 while Else went from #62 to #191.

Moved the same way as Una

Anna
Between 1961 and 2025 in Norway · Girls, Una went from #508 to #218 and Anna from #78 to #23.
Charlotte
Between 1961 and 2025 in Norway · Girls, Una went from #508 to #218 and Charlotte from #317 to #162.
Elise
Between 1961 and 2025 in Norway · Girls, Una went from #508 to #218 and Elise from #254 to #63.
Ella
Between 1961 and 2025 in Norway · Girls, Una went from #508 to #218 and Ella from #289 to #4.

Meaning & Origin

The Anglicized form of Irish Úna or Scottish Ùna; also connects to the Latin feminine 'una' of 'unus' ('one'). Gained literary prominence through Edmund Spenser's 1590 poem The Faerie Queene.

VerifiedSource: Behind the Name.Confidence: medium.

Irish/Scottish Gaelic, with a possible independent Latin connection

VerifiedSource: Behind the Name.Confidence: medium.

Other names with a researched meaning and origin →

Where Una is officially recorded

5 official registrars have recorded Una, between 1961 and 2025, in 63 of those 65 years. Each registrar publishes for its own population on its own methodology, so the positions below are each one country's own ranking and are not comparable with one another.

Registrar	Recorded	Years	Its own highest position
Norway	1961–2025	54	#153 in 2003
Republic of Ireland	1964–2025	60	#74 in 1966
England and Wales	1996–2025	30	#473 in 2025
Northern Ireland	1997–2024	25	#142 in 2023
Scotland	2024	1	#196 in 2024

Its high point came 59 years earlier in Republic of Ireland (1966) than in England and Wales (2025).

Variants

Úna · spelling
Ùna · spelling
Oona · spelling
Oonagh · spelling

Similar Names

No similar names recorded yet for this name.

Similarity is a demonstration score — see methodology.

Spelling

Spelling simplicity

Calculated directly from the name's spelling — see Name Characteristics above.

Common alternate spellings: Úna, Ùna, Oona, Oonagh.

Pronunciation

OO-nuh/ˈuː.nə/

Syllables: 2
Ease: easy

VerifiedSource: Behind the Name.Confidence: medium.

Where Una Is Recorded

National statistical agencies have recorded Una in these places. This shows where the name is used — not where it comes from, and not that it carries particular cultural significance there.

England and WalesNorthern IrelandScotlandRepublic of IrelandNorway

Notable Usage

No safely-sourced notable usage recorded for this name yet.

Sibling & Surname Compatibility

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Una

Una at a glance

Overview

Popularity

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Una across 4 official records

Una by decade in Republic of Ireland · Girls

Una appears in

What the record shows

Names published alongside Una

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1960s

Una and the names beside it

Una moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Una

Moved the opposite way to Una

Moved the same way as Una

Meaning & Origin

Where Una is officially recorded

Variants

Similar Names

Spelling

Pronunciation

Where Una Is Recorded

Notable Usage

Sibling & Surname Compatibility

Una at a glance

Una across 4 official records

Una by decade in Republic of Ireland · Girls

Una appears in

What the record shows

Names published alongside Una

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1960s

Una and the names beside it

Una moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Una

Moved the opposite way to Una

Moved the same way as Una