Ila is a feminine and masculine

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a f ...

, with multiple origins.

Background and meaning

As an English feminine name, it might be a spelling variant of Isla, which is derived from the Scottish

Islay Islay ( ; , ) is the southernmost island of the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. Known as "The Queen of the Hebrides", it lies in Argyll and Bute just south west of Jura, Scotland, Jura and around north of the Northern Irish coast. The island's cap ...

, an island in the

Hebrides The Hebrides ( ; , ; ) are the largest archipelago in the United Kingdom, off the west coast of the Scotland, Scottish mainland. The islands fall into two main groups, based on their proximity to the mainland: the Inner Hebrides, Inner and Ou ...

. It is also a Hungarian diminutive of Ilona, a name sometimes considered to be a Hungarian version of Helen, that is also used as an independent name. Ila is also a largely feminine name in use in India and Bangladesh. According to one source, it can be an English translation of the

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

feminine name इला, meaning "earth" or "speech" and is also a Yupik feminine name meaning "companion". Ila was also the first woman in Samoan mythology. The name ranked among the 1,000 most popular names for girls in the United States between 1880 and 1953. It then decreased in use, but reappeared on the United States popularity chart in 2020 at 864th position. It has increased in use from year to year and was given to 478 newborn American girls in 2023, the year it was ranked 620th on the popularity chart. As a masculine name, it originated as a Georgian form of

Ilarion Ilarion (, , , , , ) is a variant of the Greek given name ''Hilarion'', found in Orthodox Slavic and Romanian languages. It may refer to: *Hilarion of Kiev or Ilarion (11th century), Metropolitan of Kiev * Ilarion Buiuc (1891–1918), Bessarabian p ...

Ilya Ilya, Iliya, Ilia, Ilja, Ilija, or Illia ( , or ; ; ) is the East Slavic form of the male Hebrew name Eliyahu (Eliahu), meaning "My God is Yahu/ Jah." It comes from the Byzantine Greek pronunciation of the vocative (Ilía) of the Greek Eli ...

and other names. It has also been used as a diminutive of other names starting with Il, such as the Finnish name Ilkka.

People

Women

Ila Arun Ila Arun is an Indian actress, TV personality and Rajasthani folk-pop singer known for her works in Hindi cinema, and Indian pop. She has appeared in many prominent Bollywood films such as '' Lamhe'', ''Jodhaa Akbar'', '' Shaadi Ke Side Effe ...

(born 1954), Indian actress * Ila Bhattacharya(1921-2010), Indian politician *

Ila Borders Ila Jane Borders (born February 18, 1975) is an American former left-handed pitcher in college and independent professional baseball player. As a female pitcher in men's leagues, Borders achieved numerous baseball milestones at the college and p ...

(born 1975), American baseball player * Ila Marshall Cronin (1893–1955), American politician * Ila Fiete, Indian–American physicist and computational neuroscientist * Ila Firouzabadi, Iranian Canadian interdisciplinary artist * Ila Ghose (1930-2019), Indian mechanical engineer *

Ila Ray Hadley Ila Ray Hadley (September 18, 1942 – February 15, 1961), was an American figure skater who competed in pairs and ice dance with her brother Ray Hadley, Jr. Hadley was born in Renton, Washington to Ray Hadley Sr. and his first wife, Betty ...

(1942–1961), American Olympic figure skater * Ila Jones (1903-2017), American supercentenarian * Ila Fox Loetscher (1904–2000), American aviator and conservationist *

Ila Lóth Ila Lóth, born: ''Mária Rónai'' (28 May 1900 – 21 September 1975) was a Hungarian film actress. Biography She appeared in 27 films between 1918 and 1973. She was born in Budapest, Hungary (Austria-Hungary) and died in Budapest. In 192 ...

(1900–1975), Hungarian actress * Ila Majumder (1941—2011), Bangladeshi classical vocalist * Ila Mae McAfee (1897-1995), American painter * Ila Arab Mehta (born 1938), Indian writer * Ila Mitra (1925-2002), Bangladeshi activist * Ila Pal Choudhury (1908–1975), Indian politician and social worker * Ila Paliwal, Indian vocalist, songwriter and producer based in New York City * Ila Panda (1932-2005), Indian politician * Ila Pant (born 1938), Indian politician * Ila Patnaik, Indian economist * Ila Dianne Thompson (born 1950), British businesswoman

Men

* Ila Alu (born 1995), Papua New Guinean professional rugby league footballer * Ila Bêka, Italian artist *

Ila Teromaa Ilkka "Ila" Teromaa (3 September 1953 – 21 June 2017) was a Finnish speedway rider who rode in the British League.Oakes, Peter (1981) ''1981 Speedway Yearbook'', Studio Publications, , p. 132 He earned 8 caps for the Finland national speedway ...

1953–2017), Finnish speedway rider

Fictional and mythical entities

* Ila, a minor character in the television series ''

Battlestar Galactica ''Battlestar Galactica'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Glen A. Larson. It began with the original television series in 1978, and was followed by a short-run sequel series, '' Galactica 1980'', a line of book adaptat ...

'' *

Ila (Hinduism) Ila () or Ilā () is a deity in Hindu mythology, Hindu legends, known for their sex changes. As a man, he is known as Ila or Sudyumna and as a woman, is called Ilā. Ilā is considered the chief progenitor of the Lunar dynasty of Indian kings – ...

, daughter of saint Manu * Ila (Samoan mythology), the first woman on Tutuila (American Samoa), in Polynesian mythology

References

{{reflist English feminine given names Indian feminine given names