Ilka
A Scandinavian feminine name derived from the Old Norse word "elk".
Name Census estimates that about 222 living Americans carry the first name Ilka. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Ilka today is around 51 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ilka births was 1970 (19 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ilka. 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.
People living today
222
~ 1 in 1,543,938 Americans
Peak year
1970
19 babies that year
Average age
51
years old
1998 SSA rank
#13,032
Tracked since 1955
Census
Ilka in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 776 people with the first name Ilka, which placed it at #14,967 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#14,967
National first-name rank
People counted
776
776 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
48.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ilka
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ilka is Hispanic at 48.7%. The next largest groups are White (39.4%) and Black (8.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Ilka described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Ilka at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino48.7% · 378
- White39.4% · 306
- Black or African American8.1% · 63
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.3% · 18
- Two or more races1.4% · 11
Popularity
Ilka: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ilka from the 1950s through to the 1990s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 111 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ilka 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 Ilka during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ilkas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Ilka
The name Ilka is a feminine given name of Germanic origin, derived from the Old High German word "Hilka," which means "little saint" or "little consecrated one." It is a diminutive form of the name Hilda or Hildegard.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Ilka can be traced back to medieval Germany, where it was primarily used in the regions of Bavaria and Saxony. It gained popularity during the Middle Ages, particularly among the nobility and upper classes.
One of the earliest known historical figures to bear the name Ilka was Ilka von Leiningen, a German noblewoman who lived in the 13th century. She was the daughter of Count Friedrich III von Leiningen and played a significant role in the politics of her time.
In the 14th century, Ilka von Oettingen, a German abbess and member of the noble Oettingen family, was a prominent figure in the religious and cultural life of her era. She served as the abbess of the Kloster Kirchheim convent and was renowned for her wisdom and leadership.
During the Renaissance, Ilka Bredow, a German painter and engraver, gained recognition for her artistic talent and contributions to the arts. She was born in 1574 and her works were highly regarded among the cultural elite of her time.
In the 19th century, Ilka Küntzel, a German writer and journalist, made a name for herself through her literary works and contributions to various publications. She was born in 1842 and her writings often focused on social and political issues of her era.
Ilka Grüning, a German actress and singer, was a celebrated performer in the early 20th century. Born in 1876, she graced the stages of theaters across Germany and gained popularity for her roles in both plays and operettas.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who have borne the name Ilka. While the name has its roots in Germanic culture, it has since spread to various parts of the world and continues to be used as a given name in various cultural contexts.
People
Ilka + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ilka 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
Ilka: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ilka?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 222 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ilka 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 1,543,938 US residents.
Is Ilka a common name?
We classify Ilka as "Very Rare". It ranks above 75.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 249 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ilka most popular?
The single biggest year for Ilka was 1970, when 19 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ilka is about 51 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Ilka in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 776 people with the name Ilka, or 0.26 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #14,967 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Ilka in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Ilka?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ilka appears almost entirely female. Of the 774 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Ilka?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ilka is Hispanic at 48.7%. The next largest groups are White (39.4%) and Black (8.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Ilka most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Ilka in the 2020 Census, accounting for 48.7% (378 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Ilka in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ilka a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ilka 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 Ilka still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ilka 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 Ilka 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.
How many people are called Ilka?
You can see how many Americans are named Ilka on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.