Illyana
A feminine Russian name meaning "sun ray" or "God's gift".
Name Census estimates that about 669 living Americans carry the first name Illyana. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Illyana today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Illyana births was 2012 (36 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Illyana. 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
669
~ 1 in 512,338 Americans
Peak year
2012
36 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,058
Tracked since 1989
Popularity
Illyana: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Illyana from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 262 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Illyana remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Illyana 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 Illyana during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Illyanas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. Texas, California, Pennsylvania recorded the most babies named Illyana, while Pennsylvania, California, Texas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 23 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Illyana
The name Illyana has its roots in the ancient Greek language, originating from the word "Helios," which means "sun." It is a feminine variant of the name Elijah, which means "my God is Yahweh" in Hebrew. The name Illyana gained popularity during the Byzantine era, particularly in regions with strong Greek cultural influences.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Illyana can be found in the writings of the 5th-century Byzantine historian Procopius of Caesarea. He mentions an Illyana who was a member of the imperial court during the reign of Emperor Justinian I (527-565 AD). However, the name's usage can be traced back even further to ancient Greek mythology, where it was associated with the sun goddess Helios.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Illyana. One of the most famous was Illyana Rasputina, a Marvel Comics character introduced in 1984. She is a powerful mutant with the ability to summon demons and was a prominent member of the superhero team X-Men. Another Illyana of historical significance was Illyana Muromtseva (1913-2003), a renowned Russian ballerina who performed with the Bolshoi Ballet during the mid-20th century.
In the realm of literature, Illyana Stremina was a central character in the 19th-century Russian novel "Fathers and Sons" by Ivan Turgenev. The novel, published in 1862, explored the generational divide between liberal-minded youth and their more conservative parents, and Illyana's character embodied the clash of traditional and progressive values.
Moving to the world of politics, Illyana Zhirkova (1926-2012) was a prominent Soviet politician who served as the First Secretary of the Komsomol (Young Communist League) in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic from 1962 to 1971. She played a significant role in shaping the youth movement during the Soviet era.
Lastly, in the field of science, Illyana Akhundova (1913-1994) was an Azerbaijani mathematician and academic. She made notable contributions to the study of differential equations and was recognized as one of the leading mathematicians of her time in the Soviet Union.
People
Illyana + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Illyana 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
Illyana: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Illyana?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 669 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Illyana 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 512,338 US residents.
Is Illyana a common name?
We classify Illyana as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 677 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Illyana most popular?
The single biggest year for Illyana was 2012, when 36 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Illyana is about 15 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Illyana a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Illyana 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.