Ioana
A feminine name of Greek origin meaning "gift from God".
Name Census estimates that about 85 living Americans carry the first name Ioana. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Ioana today is around 19 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ioana births was 2003 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ioana. 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 Ioana. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
85
~ 1 in 4,032,404 Americans
Peak year
2003
10 babies that year
Average age
19
years old
2024 SSA rank
#14,102
Tracked since 1993
Popularity
Ioana: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ioana 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 56 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
Ioana 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 Ioana 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 Ioana
The name Ioana has its origins in Greek and Romanian cultures. It is derived from the Greek name Ioanna, which is a feminine form of the Hebrew name Yohanan, meaning "God is gracious" or "Yahweh is merciful."
The name Ioana gained popularity in Romania, where it is pronounced as "Yoana." It is a common name in both Romanian and Moldovan cultures. The earliest recorded use of the name Ioana dates back to the 10th century in Romania.
In ancient times, the name Ioana was associated with Saint John the Baptist, who was revered in Christian traditions. The name appears in various religious texts and scriptures, including the Bible and the Qur'an.
One of the earliest notable figures with the name Ioana was Ioana Radu (1485-1550), a Romanian princess who played a significant role in the political affairs of her time. Another prominent individual was Ioana Bassaraba (1572-1608), a Princess of Wallachia, who was known for her support of the Orthodox Church and her patronage of the arts.
In the 17th century, Ioana Hartwig (1602-1679) was a German author and poet who gained recognition for her religious and moral writings. Ioana Andreescu (1920-2006) was a Romanian philosopher and educator who made significant contributions to the field of ethics and aesthetics.
Ioana Berindei (1937-2018) was a prominent Romanian historian and author, known for her extensive research on the history of Romania and her publications on the subject. She played a crucial role in preserving and promoting Romanian cultural heritage.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who bore the name Ioana. The name has maintained its popularity in various cultures and continues to be used as a beautiful and meaningful choice for baby girls.
People
Ioana + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ioana 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
Ioana: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ioana?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 85 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ioana 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 4,032,404 US residents.
Is Ioana a common name?
We classify Ioana as "Very Rare". It ranks above 62.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 86 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ioana most popular?
The single biggest year for Ioana was 2003, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ioana is about 19 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Ioana a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ioana 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.