Yilia
A feminine name of Hebrew origin meaning "worshipper of God".
Name Census estimates that about 74 living Americans carry the first name Yilia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Yilia today is around 9 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Yilia births was 2017 (19 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Yilia. 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 Yilia. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
74
~ 1 in 4,631,815 Americans
Peak year
2017
19 babies that year
Average age
9
years old
2020 SSA rank
#15,015
Tracked since 2014
Popularity
Yilia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Yilia from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 68 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Yilia 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 Yilia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Yilias live
Origin
Meaning and history of Yilia
The name Yilia is believed to have originated from the ancient Greek language, dating back to the classical period of ancient Greece, which spanned from the 5th to the 4th century BC. It is thought to be derived from the Greek word "helios," meaning "sun," suggesting a potential connection to light, warmth, and radiance.
In ancient Greek mythology, Helios was the personification of the sun, a powerful and revered deity who was often depicted as a handsome young man crowned with rays of light. The name Yilia may have been a variation or diminutive form of this mythological name, reflecting the cultural significance of the sun in ancient Greek society.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Yilia can be found in the writings of the ancient Greek historian and philosopher Plutarch, who lived in the 1st century AD. In his work "Parallel Lives," Plutarch mentions a woman named Yilia, although details about her life and significance are scarce.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Yilia. In the 4th century AD, Saint Yilia of Caesarea was a Christian martyr who was executed for her faith during the persecution of Christians under the Roman Emperor Galerius. Her story is recorded in various hagiographies and she is venerated as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Another prominent figure was Yilia of Constantinople, a Byzantine noblewoman and courtier who lived in the 6th century AD. She served as a lady-in-waiting to the Empress Theodora and is mentioned in the historical accounts of the Byzantine scholar Procopius of Caesarea.
In the 14th century, Yilia Panayotova was a Bulgarian noble and landowner who played a significant role in the cultural and political affairs of the Second Bulgarian Empire. She is known for her patronage of the arts and her support for the preservation of Bulgarian literature and culture.
During the Renaissance period, Yilia Gonzaga was an Italian noblewoman and patron of the arts. Born in 1492, she was a member of the powerful Gonzaga family and is remembered for her influential role in the cultural and intellectual life of Renaissance Italy, particularly in the city of Mantua.
In more recent history, Yilia Semenova was a Russian ballet dancer who lived from 1866 to 1942. She was a prima ballerina with the Imperial Theatres of Russia and is celebrated for her performances in iconic roles such as Odette/Odile in Swan Lake and Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty.
People
Yilia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Yilia as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with Y
Other first names starting with Y with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Yilia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Yilia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 74 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Yilia 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 4,631,815 US residents.
Is Yilia a common name?
We classify Yilia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 60.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 74 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Yilia most popular?
The single biggest year for Yilia was 2017, when 19 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Yilia is about 9 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Yilia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Yilia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Yilia 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 Yilia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Yilia 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 Yilia 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many Americans are named Yilia?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.