Iva
Of Slavic origin, a feminine name meaning "likeness, image, or resemblance".
Name Census estimates that about 7,519 living Americans carry the first name Iva. It is a predominantly female name (98.5% of registrations). The average person named Iva today is around 57 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Iva births was 1918 (906 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Iva. 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
- • Although Iva is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 564 boys registered with the name since 1880.
People living today
7.5K
~ 1 in 45,585 Americans
Peak year
1918
906 babies that year
Average age
57
years old
1985 SSA rank
#2,170
Tracked since 1880
Gender
Gender distribution for Iva
Iva leans heavily female at 98.5% of total registrations, but 564 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Iva as a male name
- Ranked #6,960 in 1985
- 5 male births in 1985
- Peak: 1929 (18 births)
Iva as a female name
- Ranked #2,170 in 2024
- 87 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1918 (889 births)
Popularity
Iva: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Iva from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 7,512 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Iva 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 Iva during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ivas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 43 states and territories. Texas, Tennessee, Kentucky recorded the most babies named Iva, while Vermont, New Mexico, Connecticut recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 543 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Iva
The name Iva is a feminine given name that has its origins in various cultures and languages around the world. It is believed to be derived from the Hebrew name Eva, which means "life" or "living one." In some Slavic languages, such as Russian and Serbian, the name Iva is a diminutive form of the name Ivan, which is the equivalent of the English name John.
In ancient times, the name Iva was mentioned in several religious texts and historical records. In the Bible, Iva is an alternative spelling of the name Eva, the first woman according to the Book of Genesis. The name was also present in ancient Greek mythology, where Iva was a minor goddess associated with youth and springtime.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Iva dates back to the 12th century, when a Benedictine nun named Iva von Görz lived in what is now Austria. In the 14th century, Iva Hlohovská was a Bohemian noblewoman and landowner in the region of present-day Czech Republic.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Iva. Iva Toguri d'Aquino (1916-2006) was an American woman of Japanese descent who was convicted of treason for being a broadcaster on Japanese radio during World War II, although her conviction was later pardoned. Iva Ikuko Toguri (1925-1945) was a Japanese-American poet and author who died in a Japanese internment camp during World War II.
In the realm of arts and culture, Iva Withers (1917-2014) was a Canadian actress and singer who appeared in numerous stage productions and films throughout her career. Iva Frühlingová (1923-2003) was a Czech actress and comedian known for her roles in several Czech films and television shows.
Another notable figure was Iva Toguri (1883-1957), a Japanese educator and women's rights activist who founded the Tokyo Women's Higher Normal School and advocated for women's education in Japan during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
People
Iva + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Iva 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
Iva: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Iva?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 7,519 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Iva 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 45,585 US residents.
Is Iva a common name?
We classify Iva as "Rare". It ranks above 97.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 38,840 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Iva most popular?
The single biggest year for Iva was 1918, when 906 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Iva is about 57 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Iva a female name?
Yes, 98.5% of people registered as Iva 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.