girls' name ★ peaked 1925

Ila

Meaning Borrowed from Sanskrit इला (ilā) Gender Girl Rank 2025 #718 Trend ↑ Rising 79%

Borrowed from Sanskrit इला (ilā).

Rank 2025
#718
among girls · ↓39 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
390
named Ila · -7% vs 2024
How common
1 in 4,121
girls born in 2025
Peak year
1925
649 babies
All-time total
25,120
#922 all-time among girls
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Ila popularity over time

25,120 babies have been named Ila since 1880, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
0.190.380.560.7518801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
GirlsBoys

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s 354 – 354 35 – #313
1890s 1,006 – 1,006 101 +184% #254
1900s 1,642 – 1,642 164 +63% #237
1910s 3,942 26 3,968 397 +142% #250
1920s 5,526 24 5,550 555 +40% #261
1930s 3,539 10 3,549 355 -36% #305
1940s 1,766 – 1,766 177 -50% #460
1950s 1,033 – 1,033 103 -42% #739
1960s 507 – 507 51 -51% #1,308
1970s 282 – 282 28 -44% #2,265
1980s 225 – 225 23 -20% #3,012
1990s 240 – 240 24 +7% #3,341
2000s 738 – 738 74 +207% #1,763
2010s 1,853 – 1,853 185 +151% #1,032
2020s (to 2025) 2,407 – 2,407 401 +116% #622

Where Ila is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 431 0.27 outside top 500
2027 470 0.29 outside top 500
2028 505 0.31 outside top 500
2029 537 0.33 outside top 500
2030 566 0.35 outside top 500

Where Ila is most popular

Girls named Ila per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.258 per 1,000. Strongest in Iowa, Utah, and North Dakota.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Ila born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Iowa 59 1.01 +291%
Utah 72 0.865 +235%
North Dakota 10 0.761 +194%
Idaho 25 0.747 +189%
Wisconsin 68 0.660 +156%
Nebraska 23 0.640 +148%
Minnesota 66 0.612 +137%
Kansas 32 0.555 +115%
Alabama 51 0.543 +110%
Missouri 65 0.539 +109%
Michigan 96 0.527 +104%
Indiana 71 0.506 +96%
Kentucky 39 0.456 +77%
Ohio 99 0.417 +62%
South Carolina 37 0.412 +59%
Colorado 45 0.403 +56%
Arkansas 21 0.397 +54%
Tennessee 62 0.391 +51%
Oklahoma 28 0.380 +47%
Arizona 50 0.356 +38%
South Dakota 5 0.350 +36%
North Carolina 77 0.338 +31%
Georgia 75 0.330 +28%
Virginia 54 0.317 +23%
Oregon 19 0.292 +13%
Washington 41 0.284 +10%
Louisiana 24 0.274 +6%
Pennsylvania 62 0.262 ≈ national
Illinois 55 0.240 -7%
Mississippi 11 0.235 -9%
New Mexico 5 0.206 -20%
Texas 156 0.194 -25%
West Virginia 5 0.191 -26%
Florida 75 0.175 -32%
Massachusetts 20 0.165 -36%
California 135 0.161 -38%
Nevada 7 0.151 -42%
New York 58 0.146 -43%
Connecticut 7 0.120 -53%
New Jersey 14 0.078 -70%
Alaska – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Maryland – – –
Maine – – –
Montana – – –
New Hampshire – – –
Rhode Island – – –
Vermont – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Ila

Ila is uncommon for girls in the United States, ranked #718 in 2025 with 390 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 25,120 American babies have been named Ila. Its peak came in 1925, when 649 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1920s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Ila stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Ila?

The median living Ila is about 19 years old; half are between 5 and 75. An estimated 9,200 people named Ila are alive in the United States today.

median 19 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Ila year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 390 #718 – –
2024 421 #679 – –
2023 480 #622 – –
2022 428 #684 – –
2021 377 #760 – –
2020 311 #866 – –
2019 249 #1,032 – –
2018 183 #1,265 – –
2017 230 #1,100 – –
2016 199 #1,230 – –
2015 213 #1,186 – –
2014 203 #1,199 – –
2013 142 #1,542 – –
2012 150 #1,498 – –
2011 129 #1,656 – –
2010 155 #1,458 – –
2009 124 #1,763 – –
2008 109 #1,934 – –
2007 88 #2,232 – –
2006 90 #2,155 – –
2005 74 #2,389 – –
2004 60 #2,722 – –
2003 55 #2,811 – –
2002 43 #3,260 – –
2001 57 #2,645 – –
2000 38 #3,477 – –
1995 16 #5,783 – –
1990 24 #4,157 – –
1985 16 #4,709 – –
1980 28 #3,087 – –
1975 32 #2,477 – –
1970 24 #2,880 – –
1965 36 #1,926 – –
1960 57 #1,459 – –
1955 87 #1,085 – –
1950 133 #748 – –
1945 151 #595 – –
1940 212 #460 – –
1935 312 #360 – –
1930 451 #312 5 #4,259
1925 642 #261 7 #3,563
1920 561 #274 6 #4,036
1915 451 #278 – –
1910 199 #275 – –
1905 166 #250 – –
1900 177 #241 – –
1895 97 #286 – –
1890 63 #318 – –
1885 42 #314 – –
1880 15 #438 – –

Famous people named Ila

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Ila Arun Ila Arun Indian actress and singer (born 1954) b. 1929 · Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Ila, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Ila?

The median living Ila is about 19 years old. Half of all living Ilas are between 5 and 75 years old.

How many people named Ila are alive today?

An estimated 9,200 people named Ila are alive in the United States, based on 25,120 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Ila mean?

Borrowed from Sanskrit इला (ilā).

How popular is the name Ila in 2025?

Ila ranked #718 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 390 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Ila?

25,120 babies have been named Ila in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Ila most popular?

Ila peaked in 1925, when 649 newborns received the name.

Is Ila a boy or girl name?

Ila is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Ila rising or falling?

Ila is on the rise, noticeably more popular now than a decade ago.

Will Ila become more popular?

Ila is trending upward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 566 girls named Ila in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Ila?

Well-known people named Ila include Ila Arun (actor).

Names like Ila

Names that sound and feel close to Ila: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Ila with similar names → More names starting with I →