Iona is a distinctive choice, ranked #520 in 2025. Your child is likely to be the only Iona in their class.
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UK Rank 2025
#520
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About the Name Iona
Iona ranked #520 in 2025, down from its peak of #199 in 2000 — still a familiar name, but past its high point. The name has been a consistent presence in UK records since 1996.
Iona is uncommon in the UK, so your child is very likely to be the only Iona in their class.
⭐ Famous People Named Iona
Iona University — Iona University () is a private Catholic university with a main campus in New Rochelle, New York, United States.
Iona College Brisbane — Iona College is an independent Roman Catholic single-sex day school for boys, located in the Brisbane suburb of Wynnum West, Queensland, Australia.
Iona Abbey — Iona Abbey is an abbey located on the island of Iona, off the larger Isle of Mull on the west coast of Scotland.
Biographical summaries are shortened from Wikipedia and are used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence; those summaries remain available under that same licence.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about the name Iona
Unlikely. With around 77 UK babies named Iona per year, your child will almost certainly be the only Iona in their class, and possibly the only one in the whole school.
Iona has been fairly steady, ranked #520 in 2025 against #439 in 2020. Its best recorded position was #199 in 2000.
Iona is a distinctive choice sitting outside the mainstream UK top names. Parents choosing less common names often find their children appreciate the individuality as they grow up, rarely needing to add an initial to distinguish themselves.
Notable people named Iona include: Iona University, Iona College Brisbane and Iona Abbey. Short summaries for each appear below.
Iona does not appear in the US top 1,000 baby names, making it a distinctively British choice — your child is unlikely to encounter American Ionas in the wild.
77
UK babies named Iona (2025)
< 1
Expected classmates with this name (class of 28)
~0.1
In a school of 600
↓ 81 places
Rank change (last 5 years)
🏫 Who else is in the room?
In a typical UK class of 28, highlighted children share the name Iona
Almost certainly the only Iona in the class
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UK Popularity (1996–2025)
Rank and birth count · ONS official data
No US data available for this name
✨ Similar names to Iona
Names with a similar style — each with their own classroom story
The Abbot of Iona was the head of Iona Abbey during the Middle Ages and the leader of the monastic community of Iona, as well as the overlord of scores of monasteries in both Scotland and Ireland, including Durrow, Kells and, until the Synod of Whitby, Lindisfarne.
Iona Victoria Campagnolo was a Canadian politician who served as the 27th Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia from 2001 to 2007; Campagnolo was the first woman to hold that office.