Ianna
Greek feminine form of Iannis, derived from Ioannes meaning "God is gracious".
Name Census estimates that about 1,080 living Americans carry the first name Ianna. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Ianna today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ianna births was 2011 (59 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ianna. 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.
Key insights
- • Ianna is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 18 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.1K
~ 1 in 317,365 Americans
Peak year
2011
59 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,497
Tracked since 1980
Popularity
Ianna: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ianna from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 419 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Ianna remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ianna 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 Ianna during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Iannas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 8 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Ianna, while Virginia, New Jersey, Illinois recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 36 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Ianna
The name Ianna has its origins in the Greek language and culture, dating back to ancient times. It is a feminine form of the male name Ioannes, derived from the Hebrew name Yochanan, meaning "Yahweh is gracious." The name Ianna was particularly popular in the Byzantine Empire and the Greek-speaking regions of the Mediterranean.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Ianna can be found in the hagiography of Saint Ianna, a 9th-century Byzantine nun and abbess from Constantinople. She is celebrated in the Eastern Orthodox Church for her piety and monastic life.
In the 11th century, Ianna Radene was a prominent Byzantine noblewoman and the wife of the military commander Basil Argyros. She played a significant role in the political and social affairs of the Byzantine court during the reign of Emperor Michael VII Doukas.
During the Renaissance period, Ianna Angevin was an Italian noblewoman and the wife of King Robert of Naples. She was known for her patronage of the arts and her support of the humanist movement in the 14th century.
In the 16th century, Ianna Loukina was a Greek scholar and philosopher from the island of Crete. She was renowned for her knowledge of classical literature and her contributions to the intellectual life of the Renaissance.
Another notable figure was Ianna Tsitsikli, a 17th-century Greek poet and writer from the island of Chios. Her works explored themes of love, nature, and the human condition, and she is considered one of the most influential figures in early modern Greek literature.
While the name Ianna has its origins in ancient Greece, it has been adopted and used across various cultures throughout history, reflecting the enduring influence of Greek culture and language.
People
Ianna + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ianna 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
Ianna: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ianna?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,080 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ianna 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 317,365 US residents.
Is Ianna a common name?
We classify Ianna as "Rare". It ranks above 90.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,096 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ianna most popular?
The single biggest year for Ianna was 2011, when 59 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ianna is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Ianna a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ianna 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.