Ianthia
A feminine name of Greek origin meaning "violet flower".
Name Census estimates that about 4 living Americans carry the first name Ianthia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Ianthia today is around 74 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ianthia births was 1952 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ianthia. 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
- • The typical person named Ianthia is about 74 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Ianthias were born before 1962.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Ianthia. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
4
~ 1 in 85,688,585 Americans
Peak year
1952
6 babies that year
Average age
74
years old
1952 SSA rank
#5,149
Tracked since 1927
Popularity
Ianthia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ianthia from the 1920s through to the 1950s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 6 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ianthia 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 Ianthia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Ianthia
The given name Ianthia has its roots in Ancient Greek culture and language. It is derived from the Greek words "ianthos" meaning violet flower and "anthos" meaning blossom or flower. The name was likely bestowed upon girls born in the springtime when violets and other flowers bloom.
In ancient Greek mythology, Ianthia was a minor deity associated with violets and springtime. She was said to be one of the attendants of the goddess Persephone. The name appears in a few ancient Greek texts and records from around the 5th century BCE.
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was Ianthia of Cyzicus, a Greek philosopher and mathematician who lived in the 4th century BCE. She is noted for her work on conic sections and her contributions to the development of geometry.
In the 2nd century CE, there was an Ianthia who was a Christian martyr from Nicaea. She was executed during the persecution of Christians under the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius. Her name appears in early Christian martyr records and hagiographies.
During the Byzantine era, Ianthia Cantacuzene was a prominent figure in the 14th century. She was the daughter of the Byzantine Emperor John VI Cantacuzene and served as the Empress consort of Trabzon from 1344 to 1349 through her marriage to Basil Comnenos.
Another notable bearer of the name was Ianthia Palaiologa, a Greek noble and princess of the Palaiologan dynasty. She lived in the 15th century and was the daughter of Thomas Palaiologos, the Despot of Morea.
In the 16th century, there was an Italian poet and playwright named Ianthia Milese who hailed from Milan. She wrote several plays and poetry collections that were popular in her time, though little biographical information about her life remains today.
People
Ianthia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ianthia 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
Ianthia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ianthia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 4 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ianthia 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 85,688,585 US residents.
Is Ianthia a common name?
We classify Ianthia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 6.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 11 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ianthia most popular?
The single biggest year for Ianthia was 1952, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ianthia is about 74 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Ianthia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ianthia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ianthia 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.
Is Ianthia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ianthia in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Ianthia can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have the name Ianthia?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.