Illeana
A feminine name of Spanish origin meaning "sun ray" or "bright".
Name Census estimates that about 373 living Americans carry the first name Illeana. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Illeana today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Illeana births was 2005 (34 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Illeana. 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
373
~ 1 in 918,912 Americans
Peak year
2005
34 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
2024 SSA rank
#14,092
Tracked since 1927
Popularity
Illeana: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Illeana from the 1920s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 195 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
Illeana 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 Illeana during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Illeanas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Illeana
The name Illeana is a variant of the Spanish name Ileana, which itself is derived from the Greek name Helene, meaning "bright one" or "shining light." The name has its origins in Greek mythology, where Helene was the beautiful daughter of Zeus and Leda, whose abduction by Paris sparked the Trojan War.
In the Byzantine Empire, the name Ileana gained popularity and was frequently bestowed upon princesses and noblewomen. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is Saint Ileana of Serbia, a 13th-century Serbian princess who later became a nun and was renowned for her piety and charitable works.
The name Illeana is also found in various Eastern European cultures, particularly in Romania, where it is a traditional name with several notable bearers throughout history. One of the most famous was Queen Marie of Romania (1875-1938), born Princess Marie of Edinburgh, who was known as Ileana to her family and friends.
In Italy, the variant Illeana has been used since the Middle Ages, with one of the earliest recorded instances being Illeana Ruffini (1255-1310), a nun from Siena who was renowned for her mystical visions and writings. Another notable Italian bearer of the name was Illeana Valeri (1896-1993), a renowned actress and dancer of the early 20th century.
In the realm of literature, the name Illeana appears in the works of several writers, including the Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy, who featured a character named Illeana in his novel "War and Peace." Additionally, the Spanish poet Federico García Lorca used the name Illeana in his poetry, symbolizing the beauty and resilience of women.
Other notable historical figures with the name Illeana include Illeana Stanca-Ionescu (1909-1997), a Romanian actress and director who played a significant role in the development of modern Romanian theater, and Illeana Cotrubaș (born 1939), a renowned Romanian opera singer who achieved international acclaim for her performances in the works of Verdi, Puccini, and Strauss.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Illeana
People
Illeana + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Illeana 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
Illeana: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Illeana?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 373 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Illeana 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 918,912 US residents.
Is Illeana a common name?
We classify Illeana as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 384 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Illeana most popular?
The single biggest year for Illeana was 2005, when 34 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Illeana is about 20 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Illeana a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Illeana 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.