Illana
A Hebrew feminine name meaning "tree, lofty".
Name Census estimates that about 163 living Americans carry the first name Illana. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Illana today is around 28 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Illana births was 2007 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Illana. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Illana with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
163
~ 1 in 2,102,787 Americans
Peak year
2007
14 babies that year
Average age
28
years old
2021 SSA rank
#14,151
Tracked since 1967
Census
Illana in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 333 people with the first name Illana, which placed it at #27,468 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
#27,468
National first-name rank
People counted
333
333 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
50.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Illana
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Illana is White at 50.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (22.2%) and Black (17.4%). 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 Illana 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 Illana at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White50.2% · 167
- Hispanic or Latino22.2% · 74
- Black or African American17.4% · 58
- Two or more races7.2% · 24
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.8% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 4
Popularity
Illana: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Illana from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 71 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Illana 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 Illana during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Illana
The name Illana is derived from the Hebrew language and has its origins in ancient Israelite culture. It is a feminine variant of the male name Illan, which is believed to be derived from the Hebrew word "ilan," meaning "tree" or "oak tree." The name is often associated with strength, resilience, and enduring beauty, much like the mighty oak.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Illana can be found in the biblical Book of Judges, where it appears as the name of a woman from the tribe of Judah. However, its use as a personal name became more widespread during the Middle Ages among Jewish communities in Europe and the Middle East.
In the 12th century, Illana was the name of a prominent Jewish philosopher and poet from Seville, Spain. Her works, which explored themes of love, spirituality, and the human condition, were widely celebrated during her lifetime and continue to be studied and admired today.
Another notable figure bearing the name Illana was a 13th-century Jewish mystic and scholar from Castile, Spain. She was renowned for her contributions to the study of Kabbalah, the mystical teachings of Judaism, and her writings on the interpretation of sacred texts.
In the 16th century, Illana ben Avraham was a prominent Jewish physician and scholar from Salonika, Greece. Her medical treatises and works on Jewish law and ethics were highly influential during the Renaissance period.
Moving to more recent times, Illana Diamant was a celebrated Israeli author and playwright born in 1925. Her novels and plays, which often explored themes of identity, memory, and the human experience, garnered critical acclaim and secured her place as one of Israel's most prominent literary voices of the 20th century.
These are just a few examples of the rich history and cultural significance associated with the name Illana. While its origins can be traced back to ancient Israelite culture, the name has transcended geographic and temporal boundaries, enduring as a symbol of strength, grace, and intellectual curiosity.
People
Illana + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Illana 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
Illana: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Illana?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 163 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Illana 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 2,102,787 US residents.
Is Illana a common name?
We classify Illana as "Very Rare". It ranks above 71.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 169 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Illana most popular?
The single biggest year for Illana was 2007, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Illana is about 28 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Illana in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 333 people with the name Illana, or 0.11 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #27,468 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 Illana 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 Illana?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Illana appears almost entirely female. Of the 331 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 Illana?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Illana is White at 50.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (22.2%) and Black (17.4%). 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 Illana most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Illana in the 2020 Census, accounting for 50.2% (167 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 Illana in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Illana a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Illana 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 Illana still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Illana 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 Illana 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 share the name Illana?
Find out how many people share the name Illana on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.