Ilanna
A feminine name derived from Hebrew meaning "tree" or "oak tree".
Name Census estimates that about 91 living Americans carry the first name Ilanna. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Ilanna today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ilanna births was 2007 (9 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ilanna. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Ilanna. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
91
~ 1 in 3,766,531 Americans
Peak year
2007
9 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2024 SSA rank
#12,621
Tracked since 1993
Popularity
Ilanna: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ilanna from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 45 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ilanna 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 Ilanna 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 Ilanna
The name Ilanna has its origins in ancient Mesopotamia, specifically in the Sumerian language, which was spoken in the region of modern-day Iraq around 3000 BCE. It is believed to be derived from the Sumerian words "il" meaning "god" and "anna" meaning "heaven" or "sky," suggesting a connection to divinity or celestial realms.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Ilanna can be found in Sumerian cuneiform tablets, where it appears as a personal name or a reference to a goddess. In Sumerian mythology, Ilanna was revered as the goddess of love, fertility, and war, often depicted with wings and associated with the planet Venus.
During the subsequent Akkadian and Babylonian periods, the name Ilanna evolved into various forms, such as Inanna, Ishtar, and Astarte, as different cultures in the region adopted and adapted the name and its associated mythology.
The earliest known historical figure bearing the name Ilanna was a Sumerian princess who lived around 2500 BCE. Unfortunately, records of her life and accomplishments are limited, but her existence underscores the antiquity of this name.
Another notable bearer of the name Ilanna was a Babylonian priestess who lived in the city of Ur during the reign of King Shulgi, circa 2100 BCE. She is mentioned in cuneiform inscriptions as a prominent figure in the religious ceremonies of the time.
In the ancient Greek world, there was an Ilanna who was a renowned philosopher and mathematician from the city of Miletus, active around 500 BCE. She is credited with contributing to the development of early geometric principles and is said to have been a respected teacher.
During the medieval period, an Ilanna was a renowned calligrapher and illuminator of manuscripts in the Abbasid court of Baghdad, flourishing in the 9th century CE. Her intricate and beautifully illuminated works were highly prized by the caliphs and nobles of the time.
In the 16th century, there was an Ilanna who was a skilled navigator and explorer from the Ottoman Empire. She accompanied Ottoman naval expeditions and is said to have played a crucial role in charting new trade routes and discovering uncharted territories.
People
Ilanna + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ilanna 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
Ilanna: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ilanna?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 91 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ilanna 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 3,766,531 US residents.
Is Ilanna a common name?
We classify Ilanna as "Very Rare". It ranks above 63.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 92 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ilanna most popular?
The single biggest year for Ilanna was 2007, when 9 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ilanna is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Ilanna a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ilanna 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.