Ilze
A feminine Latvian name meaning "natural woman".
Name Census estimates that about 52 living Americans carry the first name Ilze. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Ilze today is around 54 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ilze births was 1951 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ilze. 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 Ilze. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
52
~ 1 in 6,591,430 Americans
Peak year
1951
13 babies that year
Average age
54
years old
2010 SSA rank
#18,027
Tracked since 1951
Census
Ilze in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 374 people with the first name Ilze, which placed it at #25,370 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#25,370
National first-name rank
People counted
374
374 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
77.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ilze
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ilze is White at 77.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (17.9%) and Two or More Races (3.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Ilze described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Ilze at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White77.0% · 288
- Hispanic or Latino17.9% · 67
- Two or more races3.7% · 14
- Black or African American0.8% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 2
Popularity
Ilze: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ilze from the 1950s through to the 2010s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 47 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ilze 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 Ilze 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 Ilze
The name Ilze is of Latvian origin, derived from the Germanic name Hildegard, which means "battle guard" or "strife guard." The name gained widespread popularity in Latvia during the 20th century.
Hildegard was originally a compound name formed from the Germanic elements "hild" (battle) and "gard" (guard). Over time, the name evolved into various forms across different regions and languages, including Ilze in Latvian.
Historically, the name Ilze has been associated with several notable figures. One of the earliest recorded instances was Ilze Ezergaile, a 13th-century Latvian noblewoman and landowner who played a crucial role in the defense of her lands against foreign invaders.
In the 15th century, Ilze Birkerts was a prominent Latvian merchant and trader who established successful business ventures throughout the Baltic region. Her entrepreneurial spirit and business acumen were widely recognized during her time.
During the 19th century, Ilze Strazdumuiza was a renowned Latvian poet and writer who contributed significantly to the development of Latvian literature. Her works explored themes of nature, love, and national identity, resonating with readers across the country.
In the 20th century, Ilze Akmentina was a celebrated Latvian actress known for her captivating performances on stage and in films. She was born in 1924 and passed away in 2008, leaving a lasting legacy in the world of Latvian theater.
Another notable figure was Ilze Viese, a Latvian artist and sculptor born in 1928. Her works, often inspired by Latvian folklore and mythology, gained international recognition and are exhibited in various museums and galleries around the world.
These are just a few examples of the rich history and cultural significance associated with the name Ilze throughout the centuries. It continues to be a popular name in Latvia, carrying the weight of its historic roots and the stories of those who bore it.
People
Ilze + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ilze 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
Ilze: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ilze?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 52 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ilze 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 6,591,430 US residents.
Is Ilze a common name?
We classify Ilze as "Very Rare". It ranks above 54.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 68 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ilze most popular?
The single biggest year for Ilze was 1951, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ilze is about 54 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Ilze in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 374 people with the name Ilze, or 0.12 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #25,370 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Ilze in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Ilze?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ilze leans strongly female. 372 people counted with this name were female (98.9%), compared with 4 male bearers (1.1%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Ilze?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ilze is White at 77.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (17.9%) and Two or More Races (3.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Ilze most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Ilze in the 2020 Census, accounting for 77.0% (288 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Ilze in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ilze a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ilze 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 Ilze still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ilze 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 Ilze 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.
How many people are named Ilze?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.