Illya
A masculine Russian name of Hebrew origin meaning "Yahweh is God".
Name Census estimates that about 365 living Americans carry the first name Illya. It is a predominantly male name (90.3% of registrations). The average person named Illya today is around 50 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Illya births was 1966 (89 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Illya. 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
365
~ 1 in 939,053 Americans
Peak year
1966
89 babies that year
Average age
50
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,454
Tracked since 1965
Gender
Gender distribution for Illya
Illya leans heavily male at 90.3% of total registrations, but 39 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Illya as a male name
- Ranked #12,967 in 2024
- 5 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1966 (78 births)
Illya as a female name
- Ranked #11,454 in 2024
- 8 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1966 (11 births)
Popularity
Illya: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Illya from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 244 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Illya 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 Illya during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Illyas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. California, Georgia, Louisiana recorded the most babies named Illya, while Texas, New York, South Carolina recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 7 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Illya
The name Illya finds its roots in the Greek language and culture, with its origins dating back to ancient times. It is derived from the Greek name Elijah, which means "Yahweh is God" or "My God is Yahweh." The name was particularly popular among Greek populations in the Eastern Mediterranean region, including modern-day Turkey, Syria, and Egypt.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Illya can be found in the Septuagint, a Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible from the 3rd century BCE. The prophet Elijah, whose name is rendered as Elias or Illya in Greek, plays a prominent role in the biblical narratives, performing miracles and challenging the worship of Baal.
In the Byzantine Empire, which encompassed parts of the Eastern Mediterranean and the Balkans from the 4th to the 15th centuries, the name Illya gained widespread popularity. One notable figure was Illya Muromets, a legendary Russian bogatyr (warrior-knight) who is believed to have lived in the 12th century and is celebrated in numerous folk tales and epic poems.
During the Middle Ages, the name Illya was also common among the Eastern Slavic populations, particularly in Russia and Ukraine. One of the earliest recorded examples is Illya Chernyshevsky, a Russian boyar (nobleman) who lived in the 15th century and played a significant role in the Grand Duchy of Moscow.
Another notable figure was Illya Repin (1844-1930), a renowned Russian realist painter whose works, such as "Barge Haulers on the Volga" and "Ivan the Terrible and His Son Ivan," are considered masterpieces of Russian art. Repin was a prominent member of the Peredvizhniki (Wanderers) movement, which sought to depict everyday Russian life and challenge academic conventions.
In the 20th century, the name Illya gained international recognition through the character Illya Kuryakin, played by David McCallum in the popular American television series "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." (1964-1968). Kuryakin was a Russian-born agent who worked alongside American agent Napoleon Solo, reflecting the tensions and dynamics of the Cold War era.
While the name Illya has its roots in ancient Greek and Eastern Orthodox Christian traditions, it has also found a place in other cultures and contexts throughout history, reflecting the diverse and cross-cultural influence of names and their meanings.
People
Illya + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Illya 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
Illya: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Illya?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 365 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Illya 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 939,053 US residents.
Is Illya a common name?
We classify Illya as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 404 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Illya most popular?
The single biggest year for Illya was 1966, when 89 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Illya is about 50 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Illya a male name?
Yes, 90.3% of people registered as Illya in the SSA data are male. 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.