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Meaning of the nameIona

Iona is a female name that coincides with that of the island of Iona, in Scotland's Inner Hebrides, with an Old Irish etymology.

IBGE's 2022 Census recorded 1,722 people named Iona, the 5,681st most common name in Brazil. Their median age is 42, and the largest group was born in the 1970s. Proportionally, it is most common in Bahia.

Meaning

The meaning of Iona is not known for certain. The sources consulted give no settled meaning for it, so we give none; below are the origin of the spelling and the official figures.

People (2022)
1,722
Rank in Brazil
#5,681
Median age
42 years
2010 Census
1,758
people

Iona in the 2022 Census

People with the first name Iona, by the decade they were born. In the chart, 70 = the 1970s and 20+ = 2020 to 2022. The largest group was born in the 1970s (600 people).

1,662 women 60 men

Source: IBGE, 2022 Demographic Census, Nomes no Brasil. The census counts the first name of people alive in 2022; small counts are not published, and the first group covers everyone born before 1940. How to read these data.

Where the name Iona is most common

States with the highest share of people named Iona in the population, in the 2022 Census.

  1. Bahia 0.002%
  2. Rio de Janeiro 0.001%
  3. São Paulo 0.001%
  4. Minas Gerais 0.001%
All states
StatePeople% of population
São Paulo2990.001%
Bahia2520.002%
Rio de Janeiro1890.001%
Minas Gerais1510.001%
Santa Catarina980.001%
Pará960.001%
Pernambuco800.001%
Rio Grande do Sul730.001%
Paraná490.000%
Goiás490.001%
Amazonas460.001%
Paraíba380.001%
Maranhão360.001%
Ceará320.000%
Piauí300.001%
Espírito Santo260.001%
Mato Grosso240.001%
Alagoas240.001%
Distrito Federal240.001%
Sergipe240.001%
Mato Grosso do Sul210.001%
Rio Grande do Norte180.001%

States with fewer than 15 people with the name are not shown: IBGE does not publish those counts.

About the name Iona

Iona is the name of an island in the Inner Hebrides, in Scotland, and also a female name used mainly in Scotland. According to Wiktionary, the form probably arose from a misreading of Latin Ioua, an attempt to Latinize Old Irish Í, a word that comes from a derivative of Proto-Celtic *iwos, 'yew'. In the 2022 Census, IBGE recorded 1,722 people named Iona, with a median age of 42. Proportionally, it is most common in Bahia.

Sources

  1. Wiktionary: Iona · en.wiktionary.org · origin
  2. Wiktionary: Í · en.wiktionary.org · origin
  3. Behind the Name: Iona · behindthename.com · usage

Questions about the name Iona

What does the name Iona mean?

The meaning of Iona is not known for certain: the sources consulted give no settled meaning for it. So we give none; the page shows the origin of the spelling and the official figures.

How many people are named Iona in Brazil?

IBGE's 2022 Census recorded 1,722 people with the first name Iona, which ranks it number 5,681 among the country's names. The largest group was born in the 1970s.

Is Iona a boy's or a girl's name?

Iona is a female name: in the 2022 Census, 1,662 women and 60 men had this name.

What is the origin of the name Iona?

Iona is a name of Celtic origin. The sources are listed at the end of the page.

In which Brazilian state is Iona most common?

Proportionally, in Bahia: 0.002% of the state's population is named Iona (252 people), according to the 2022 Census.

More names of Celtic origin

See all

Spotted a mistake? Report a correction for Iona with a source. See the methodology.