Iana
A feminine given name of Hebrew origin meaning "God is gracious".
Name Census estimates that about 732 living Americans carry the first name Iana. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Iana today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Iana births was 2023 (59 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Iana. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
732
~ 1 in 468,244 Americans
Peak year
2023
59 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,399
Tracked since 1970
Popularity
Iana: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Iana from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 233 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Iana remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Iana by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Iana during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ianas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Iana, while New York, Florida, Texas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 19 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Iana
Iana is a feminine given name that has its origins in the ancient Greek language. It is believed to be a variant of the name Ioanna, which is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Yohanan, meaning "God is gracious" or "Yahweh is merciful."
The name Iana can be traced back to the Byzantine Empire, where it was used as an alternative spelling of Ioanna. During this period, which spanned from the 4th to the 15th century, the name gained popularity among Greek-speaking Christians, particularly in the regions of modern-day Greece and Turkey.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Iana can be found in the hagiographies (biographies of saints) of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Saint Iana, also known as Joanna the Myrrhbearer, was a prominent figure in early Christianity who is mentioned in the Gospels as one of the women who followed Jesus and witnessed his crucifixion and resurrection.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the name Iana remained in use among Greek and Slavic populations in Eastern Europe. Notable historical figures bearing this name include Iana of Trebizond (1349-1406), a Byzantine princess and the wife of King Alexios III of Trebizond, a Greek kingdom located in modern-day northeastern Turkey.
In the 16th century, the name Iana gained popularity in Russia, where it was adopted as a Russian form of the Greek name Ioanna. One of the most famous Russian women with this name was Iana Radchenko (1538-1604), a noblewoman and the mother of Tsar Fyodor I, the last ruler of the Rurik dynasty.
Another notable figure was Iana Gur'eva (1619-1679), a Russian noble and the first wife of Tsar Alexis I. She played a significant role in the political and cultural life of the Russian Empire during her time.
In the 19th century, the name Iana was also used in various European countries, including Italy and France. One notable Italian woman with this name was Iana Boccamazza (1837-1911), a renowned painter and portraitist who was celebrated for her work in the Romantic and Realist styles.
In more recent times, the name Iana has continued to be used in various parts of the world, particularly in Eastern Europe and among Greek and Slavic communities. Some notable individuals with this name include Iana Zviahilskaya (born 1988), a Belarusian swimmer and Olympic medalist, and Iana Salenko (born 1981), a Russian figure skater and two-time Olympic champion.
People
Iana + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Iana as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with I
Other first names starting with I with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Iana: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Iana?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 732 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Iana going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 468,244 US residents.
Is Iana a common name?
We classify Iana as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 747 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Iana most popular?
The single biggest year for Iana was 2023, when 59 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Iana is about 20 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Iana a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Iana in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.