Declining since 2021, #10,917 for girls today.
Popularity of Ilina since 1998
Babies named Ilina per year in U.S. Social Security records.
Data table (by decade)
| Decade | Girls |
|---|---|
| 1990s | 10 |
| 2000s | 36 |
| 2010s | 94 |
| 2020s | 58 |
Meaning & origin
Ilina is a feminine name of Slavic and possibly Greek origin, with a soft, melodic sound. It was first recorded in the U.S. in 1998 and reached its peak popularity in 2022, though it remains exceptionally rare. In 2025, it ranked 10,917th, with about 1 in 200,908 girls given the name, and its usage has been falling since 2021. The name has not cracked the top 1,000 in any state, making it a distinctive choice. Ilina's etymology ties it to the popular Elena/Helen family, offering a familiar yet unique alternative.
Ilina is likely a Slavic short form of names like Yuliana (Juliana) or a variant of Ilona, itself a Hungarian form of Helen. The Helen connection traces to Greek Helene, meaning 'torch' or 'light'. In South Slavic countries, Ilina is also used as a feminine form of Ilija (Elijah). The name has seen modest use in Bulgaria, Serbia, and Croatia, and has been adopted in English-speaking countries since the late 1990s.
“Ilina” around the world
Where Ilina lands in the latest official birth statistics abroad, matched to the U.S. spelling.
France
10
babies in 2024
Sources: INSEE (France).
Nicknames & variants
Nicknames: Ili, Lina, Ina
Sibling names for Ilina
Names that share Ilina's style, for a brother or sister.
