Mona is a

female An organism's sex is female ( symbol: ♀) if it produces the ovum (egg cell), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the male gamete (sperm cell) during sexual reproduction. A female has larger gametes than a male. Females and ...

, and sometimes

male Male (Planet symbols, symbol: ♂) is the sex of an organism that produces the gamete (sex cell) known as sperm, which fuses with the larger female gamete, or Egg cell, ovum, in the process of fertilisation. A male organism cannot sexual repro ...

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 ...

and a

surname In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give ...

of multiple origins.

Given name

As a given name, Mona can have the following meanings and origins; In

northern Europe The northern region of Europe has several definitions. A restrictive definition may describe northern Europe as being roughly north of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, which is about 54th parallel north, 54°N, or may be based on other ge ...

, where the name is much more popular, Mona is interpreted as a diminutive of Monika or, rarely, of

Ramona ''Ramona'' is an 1884 American novel written by Helen Hunt Jackson. Set in Southern California after the Mexican–American War and annexation of the territory by the United States, ''Ramona'' explores the life of a mixed-race Scottish– Native ...

or Simona. It is sometimes associated with the title of

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 1452 - 2 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially rested o ...

's painting ''

Mona Lisa The ''Mona Lisa'' is a half-length portrait painting by the Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. Considered an archetypal masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance, it has been described as "the best known, the most visited, the most written about, ...

'', although in that context the word Mona is actually a title rather than a name. The word mona also means ''cute'', ''monkey'' and ''doll'' in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

. In

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

, Mona's

name day In Christianity, a name day is a tradition in many countries of Europe and the Americas, as well as Christian communities elsewhere. It consists of celebrating a day of the year that is associated with one's baptismal name, which is normatively t ...

is May 4. Mona was a relatively popular given name in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in the 1930s, 1950s and 1960s. The highest ranking it ever reached in the US was #230, in 1950.

Notable people

Mona Achache Mona Achache (born 18 March 1981) is a French-Moroccan film director, screenwriter, and actress. She wrote and directed the feature films ''The Hedgehog'' (2009), '' Les Gazelles'' (2014), '' Valiant Hearts'' (2021), and '' Little Girl Blue'' ( ...

(born 1981), French-Moroccan film director, actress and screenwriter *

Mona Barthel Mona Barthel (born 11 July 1990) is a German tennis player. On 18 March 2013, she reached her best singles ranking of world No. 23. On 14 September 2015, she peaked at No. 63 in the doubles rankings. Barthel has won four singles and three double ...

(born 1990), German professional tennis player * Mona Beaumont (1927–2007), French-born American painter, printmaker * Mona Berglund Nilsson (born 1942), Swedish politician *

Mona Charen Mona Charen Parker ( ; born February 25, 1957) is an American conservative columnist, journalist, and political commentator. She has written four books. Early life and education Charen was born in New York City and raised in Livingston, New Jer ...

(born 1957), American columnist and political analyst *

Mona Eltahawy Mona Eltahawy (, ; born August 1, 1967) is a freelance Egyptian-American journalist and social commentator based in New York City. She has written essays and op-eds for publications worldwide on Egypt and the Islamic world, on topics including wo ...

(born 1967), Egyptian-American activist *

Mona Fandey Nur Maznah binti Ismail (1 January 1956 – 2 November 2001), known professionally as Mona Fandey, was a Malaysian pop singer and murderer. She was executed on 2 November 2001 at the age of 45, after being convicted of the murder of Batu Talam ...

(1956-2001), Malaysian singer and murderer *

Mona Ghoneim Mona Ghoneim (; b. 1955; first name also spelled Mauna) is an Egyptian composer of contemporary classical music and pianist. She is a member of that nation's third generation of such composers. Ghoneim studied piano with E. Puglisi and compositio ...

(born 1955), Egyptian composer * Mona Gould (1905-1999), Canadian poet and broadcaster *

Mona Grudt Mona Grudt (born 6 April 1971) is a Norwegian TV host, model, editor and beauty queen who was crowned Miss Universe 1990. She is, at present, the only Norwegian to capture the Miss Universe title. Miss Universe Grudt became the clear favorite o ...

(born 1971), former Miss Universe from Norway * Mona Hanna-Attisha (born 1976), pediatrician, public health advocate and

Flint Water Crisis The Flint water crisis was a public health crisis from 2014 to 2019 which involved the drinking water for the city of Flint, Michigan, being contaminated with lead and possibly ''Legionella'' bacteria. In April 2014, during a financial crisis, ...

whistleblower *

Mona Hatoum Mona Hatoum (; born 1952) is a Palestinians, British-Palestinian multimedia and installation artist who lives in London. Biography Mona Hatoum was born in 1952 in Beirut, Lebanon, to State of Palestine, Palestinian parents. Although born in Leba ...

(born 1952), British artist of Palestinian origin * Mona Hofland (1929–2010), Norwegian actress *

Mona Johannesson Mona Johannesson (born September 18, 1987, in Huskvarna, Sweden) is a Swedish model. In Sweden, she is considered to be one of the top models in the country. Johannesson was discovered at the age of 14 by an IMG Models scout while she was at a ...

(born 1987), Swedish model *

Mona Karim Mona Ferial Karim () is a Lebanese actress. Filmography Television *Noktit Hob. 2010 *Maitri Nada. 2010 *Wajaa El Rouh. 2014 *Sarah Sarah (born Sarai) is a biblical matriarch, prophet, and major figure in Abrahamic religions. While differe ...

, Lebanese actress *

Mona Keijzer Maria Cornelia Gezina "Mona" Keijzer (born 9 October 1968) is a Dutch politician and former civil servant who is the minister of housing and spatial planning in the Schoof cabinet since 2024. A member of the Farmer–Citizen Movement (''BoerBu ...

(born 1968), Dutch politician * Mona Khazinder (born 1959), Saudi art curator and historian *

Mona Mahmudnizhad Mona Mahmudnizhad (, September 10, 1965 – June 18, 1983) was an Iranian Baháʼí who, in 1983, together with nine other Baháʼí women, was sentenced to death and hanged in Shiraz, Iran, on the grounds of being a member of the Baháʼí Fait ...

(1965–1983), Iranian teen executed for membership of the Bahá'í faith *

Mona Marshall Mona Marshall is an American television and voice actress, known for her work in a number of cartoons, anime shows, films and video games. Her major credits include ''South Park'', where she voices many of the female characters on the show, '' .h ...

(born 1947), American voice actress *Mona Faiz Montrage (

Mona 4Reall Mona Faiz Montrage (born 26 June 1992) better known by her stage name as Mona 4Reall or Hajia4Reall is a Ghanaian socialite, model, musician, businesswoman and accused fraudster. Early life and education Hajia4Reall was born and raised in Tam ...

) (born 1993), Ghanaian socialite and musician * Mona Rae Miracle (1919-2014), American author, daughter of writer Berniece Baker Miracle and niece of actress

Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe ( ; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; June 1, 1926 August 4, 1962) was an American actress and model. Known for playing comic "Blonde stereotype#Blonde bombshell, blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex ...

Mona Nemer Mona Nemer, (born 1957) is a Lebanese-Canadian scientist specializing in molecular genetics and cardiac regeneration. She was formerly a professor of pharmacology at the University of Montreal and the Director of the Cardiac Development Researc ...

(born 1957), Lebanese-Canadian scientist * Mona Rai, final minister of Gour (Sylhet) * Mona Rudo (1880-1930), Seediq leader of the

Musha Incident The Musha Incident (; ), also known as the Wushe Rebellion and several other similar names, began in October 1930 and was the last major uprising against colonial Japanese forces in Japanese Taiwan. In response to long-term oppression by Japanes ...

, an anti-Japanese movement during the period of Taiwan under Japanese rule. *

Mona Sahlin Mona Ingeborg Sahlin (; ; born 9 March 1957) is a Swedes, Swedish politician who was leader of the opposition and leader of the Swedish Social Democratic Party from 2007 to 2011. Sahlin was a Parliament of Sweden, Member of Parliament, represen ...

(born 1957), Swedish politician *

Mona Siddiqui Mona Siddiqui (born 3 May 1963) is a British academic. She is Professor of Islamic and Interreligious Studies at the University of Edinburgh, a member of the Commission on Scottish Devolution and a member of the Nuffield Council on Bioethic ...

(born 1963), British Muslim academic *

Mona Singh Mona Singh (born 8 October 1981) is an Indian actress who works in Hindi films and series. Having first gained prominence in 2000s for playing the eponymous heroine in the soap opera series '' Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin'' (2003–06), she has sinc ...

(born 1981), Indian actress, comedian and television presenter *

Mona Shaito Mona Shaito () (born 12 May 1994) is a Lebanese-American fencer, who along with her brother Zain Shaito, represented Lebanon in foil at the 2012 Olympic Games. Shaito was born and raised in Texas and attended Ohio State University, and holds L ...

(born 1994) Lebanese-American fencer *

Mona Shourie Kapoor Mona Shourie Kapoor (3 February 1964 – 25 March 2012) was an Indian television producer, film producer, and entrepreneur. She was the daughter of Sattee Shourie and first wife of Bollywood producer Boney Kapoor and also the mother of ac ...

(1964-2012), Indian television and film producer * Mona L. Siegel, American scholar, author, and historian *

Mona Simpson Mona Simpson (née Jandali; June 14, 1957) is an American novelist. She has written six novels and studied English at University of California, Berkeley, and languages and literature at Columbia University. She won a Whiting Award for her first ...

(born 1957), American novelist of Syrian and German descent * Mona Tougaard (born 2002), Danish fashion model *

Mona Van Duyn Mona Jane Van Duyn (May 9, 1921 – December 2, 2004) was an American poet. She was appointed United States Poet Laureate in 1992. Biography Early years Van Duyn was born May 9, 1921, in Waterloo, Iowa."Van Duyn, Mona (1921–2004)." '' Dictio ...

(1921-2004), American poet *

Mona von Bismarck Countess Mona von Bismarck-Schönhausen (''née'' Strader; February 5, 1897 – July 10, 1983), also known as Mona Bismarck, was an American socialite, fashion icon, and philanthropist. Her five husbands included Harrison Williams, among the ric ...

(1897–1983) American socialite and fashion icon * Mona Williams (1905–1991), American novelist and poet * Mona Williams (Guyanese writer) (born 1943), Guyanese-New Zealand storyteller and educator * Mona Zaalouk (1947–1995), Egyptian painter, tapestry designer *

Mona Zaki Mona Ali Mohamed Zaki (; born 18 November 1976) is an Egyptian actress and producer. Early life and education Mona Ali Mohamed Zaki was born in Cairo to her parents Ali Mohamed and Tahini Zaki on 18 November 1976. Her father was a university ...

(born 1976), Egyptian actress

Fictional characters

*Mona, an almost 3-year old green-skinned girl, main character in the YTV short series ''

Nanalan' ''Nanalan is a Canadian children's television series created by Jamie Shannon and Jason Hopley. It began in 1998 as a series of three-minute shorts originally broadcast on YTV; it later ran for two seasons of full-length (21 minutes) episodes ...

'' *Mona, a character in the 1986 American fantasy drama film ''

The Boy Who Could Fly ''The Boy Who Could Fly'' is a 1986 American fantasy drama film written and directed by Nick Castle. It was produced by Lorimar Productions for 20th Century Fox, and released theatrically on August 15, 1986. The film stars Lucy Deakins as 14- ...

'' *Mona, an alchemist with green skin from the ''

Shovel Knight ''Shovel Knight'' is a platform video game developed and published by Yacht Club Games. Development was crowdfunded and the game was released for Nintendo 3DS, Wii U, and Windows in June 2014. It was ported to OS X and Linux in September 2014, ...

'' video games *Mona, a character in 2020 video game ''

Genshin Impact ''Genshin Impact'' is a 2020 action role-playing game produced by MiHoYo, MiHoYo/HoYoverse. The game features an anime-style open world environment and an action-based Role-playing battle systems, battle system using Classical element, element ...

'' *Mona Aamons Monzano in Kurt Vonnegut's novel ''

Cat's Cradle ''Cat's Cradle'' is a satirical postmodern novel, with science fiction elements, by American writer Kurt Vonnegut. Vonnegut's fourth novel, it was first published on March 18, 1963, exploring and satirizing issues of science, technology, the p ...

'' *Mona Bergeron, the main character in the 1985 French film ''

Vagabond Vagrancy is the condition of wandering homelessness without regular employment or income. Vagrants usually live in poverty and support themselves by travelling while engaging in begging, waste picker, scavenging, or petty theft. In Western ...

(Sans Toit ni Loi)'' *Mona Dearly, played by Bette Midler in the 2000 film ''

Drowning Mona ''Drowning Mona'' is a 2000 American crime comedy film starring Danny DeVito as Wyatt Rash, a local police chief from Verplanck, New York, who investigates the mysterious death of Mona Dearly (Bette Midler), a spiteful, hard-drinking, loud-mouthe ...

'' *Mona Lott, a recurrent character in the 1929–1949 BBC Radio series ''

It's That Man Again ''It's That Man Again'' (commonly contracted to ''ITMA'') was a BBC radio comedy programme which ran for twelve series from 1939 to 1949. The shows featured Tommy Handley in the central role, a fast-talking figure, around whom the other ch ...

'' * Mona Mars, a character in Raymond Chandler's ''

The Big Sleep ''The Big Sleep'' (1939) is a hardboiled crime novel by American-British writer Raymond Chandler, the first to feature the detective Philip Marlowe. It has been adapted for film twice, in 1946 and again in 1978. The story is set in Los A ...

'' * Mona Mayfair in several novels by Anne Rice *

Mona McCluskey ''Mona McCluskey'' (also known as ''Meet Mona McCluskey'') is an American sitcom that aired on NBC as part of its 1965-66 schedule. The series stars Juliet Prowse in the title role, and aired from September 16, 1965 to April 14, 1966. Synopsis P ...

, main character in television sitcom of the same name *Mona Melendy in

Elizabeth Enright Elizabeth Wright Enright Gillham (September 17, 1907 – June 8, 1968) was an American people, American writer of children's books, an illustrator, writer of short stories for adults, literary critic and teacher of creative writing. Perhaps best ...

's children's book series "The Melendy Quartet" *Mona Mullins, a character in the TV sitcoms ''

Top of the Heap ''Top of the Heap'' is an American sitcom that ran for seven episodes on Fox from April 7 until May 19, 1991, the most successful (as it was the only one to make it to series) of three attempted spin-offs of '' Married... with Children'' that ...

'' and ''

Vinnie & Bobby ''Vinnie & Bobby'' is an American television sitcom that aired on Fox from May 30 to July 11, 1992. The series is a spin-off of the 1991 sitcom ''Top of the Heap'', which was itself a spin-off of '' Married... with Children''. Series star Matt L ...

'' * Mona Parker, the main character in the animated television series ''

Mona the Vampire ''Mona the Vampire'' is an animated children's television series based on the children's book of the same name written and illustrated by Sonia Holleyman (itself adapted to the novel series, itself illustrated by Holleyman and written by Hia ...

'' and the book of the same name *Mona Ramsey in the ''

Tales of the City ''Tales of the City'' is a series of ten novels written by American author Armistead Maupin from 1978 to 2024, depicting the life of a group of friends in San Francisco, many of whom are LGBTQ. The stories from ''Tales'' were originally seri ...

'' books by

Armistead Maupin Armistead Jones Maupin, Jr. ( ; born May 13, 1944) is an American writer notable for '' Tales of the City'', a series of novels set in San Francisco. Early life Maupin was born in Washington, D.C., to Diana Jane (Barton) and Armistead Jones Maup ...

*Mona Robinson, mother of Angela Bower in the television series ''

Who's the Boss? ''Who's the Boss?'' is an American sitcom television series created by Martin Cohan and Blake Hunter, that aired on ABC from September 20, 1984, to April 25, 1992, with a total of 196 half-hour episodes spanning eight seasons. It was produce ...

'' *Mona Rowan, a character in the 1951 novel ''

Camilla Dickinson ''Camilla Dickinson'' is a 1951 novel by Madeleine L'Engle about the first romance of two teenagers from dysfunctional families in New York City. In 1965, it was republished in slightly different form under the title ''Camilla''. Plot summary F ...

'' *

Mona Sax Mona Sax is a character in the neo-noir media franchise '' Max Payne'', where she represents the femme fatale archetype. Mona is a mysterious contract killer in a dangerous relationship with the series' titular protagonist, the policeman-turned- ...

in the Max Payne franchise * Mona Simpson (''The Simpsons''),

Homer Simpson Homer Jay Simpson is the main protagonist of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons'' who is part of the titular family. Homer made his television debut in the short " Good Night" on '' The Tracey Ullman Show'' on April 19, ...

's estranged mother * Mona Sterling Pike, Roger Sterling's first wife on ''

Mad Men ''Mad Men'' is an American historical drama, period drama television series created by Matthew Weiner and produced by Lionsgate Television. It ran on cable network AMC (TV channel), AMC from July 19, 2007, to May 17, 2015, with seven seasons ...

'' *Mona Stevens in the novel '' Landfall: A Channel Story'' by

Nevil Shute Nevil Shute Norway (17 January 189912 January 1960) was an English novelist and aeronautical engineer who spent his later years in Australia. He used his full name in his engineering career and Nevil Shute as his pen name to protect his enginee ...

and its film adaptation *Mona Wilder, a shape-shifter in the TV adaptation of ''

Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency ''Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency'' is a humorous detective novel by English writer Douglas Adams, published in 1987. It is described by the author on its cover as a "thumping good detective-ghost-horror-who dunnit-time travel-romanti ...

'' *

Mona Vanderwaal Mona Vanderwaal is a fictional character in the ''Pretty Little Liars (book series), Pretty Little Liars'' book series, its Pretty Little Liars, television adaptation, and the spin-off TV series ''Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists''. In the ...

in the original ''

Pretty Little Liars ''Pretty Little Liars'' is an American Mystery fiction, mystery teen drama television series created by I. Marlene King, which aired on Freeform (TV channel), Freeform from June 8, 2010 to June 27, 2017, based on the novel series Pretty Little L ...

'' book and television series *Mona, Ross Geller's girlfriend in the television series ''

Friends ''Friends'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane (producer), David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting List of Friends episodes, ten seasons. With an ensemble cast ...

'', played by

Bonnie Somerville Bonnie Somerville (born February 26, 1974) is an American actress and singer. She has had roles in a number of movies and television series, most notably as Mona in ''Friends''; she has also appeared in ''NYPD Blue'', ''Grosse Pointe'', ''The ...

*Mona, a young prostitute in the novel ''

Mona Lisa Overdrive ''Mona Lisa Overdrive'' is a science fiction novel by American-Canadian writer William Gibson, published in 1988. It is the final novel of the cyberpunk Sprawl trilogy, following ''Neuromancer'' and ''Count Zero'', taking place eight years afte ...

'' by

William Gibson William Ford Gibson (born March 17, 1948) is an American-Canadian speculative fiction writer and essayist widely credited with pioneering the science fiction subgenre known as cyberpunk. Beginning his writing career in the late 1970s, his ear ...

*Mona, a character in the ''

WarioWare is a video game series, a spin-off of the ''Mario'' franchise. It comprises various video games created by Nintendo, starring the character Wario. The series began with '' Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3'', the first game to feature Wario as a p ...

'' series of video games *Mona Franklin, Nadine's mum in ''The Edge of Seventeen''

Nickname

(born 1968), Dutch politician *

Mona Mårtenson Monica Ingeborg Elisabeth "Mona" Mårtenson (4 May 1902 – 8 July 1956) was a Swedish film actress. She appeared in 28 films between 1923 and 1949. She was born and died in Stockholm, Sweden. Early career Mona grew up in Helsingborg and s ...

(1902–1956), Swedish film actress *

Mona Pasquil Mona Pasquil Rogers (born Simeona Fortunata Pasquil; April 3, 1962) is an American politician who served as the 47th and acting lieutenant governor of California from November 4, 2009 to April 27, 2010. Upon taking office, Pasquil Rogers became th ...

(born 1962), American politician

Surname

As a surname, Mona can have two origins. In

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

and

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

, it is a feminine form of ''Moni'' which is a short form of ''Simone'', the Italian form of

Simon Simon may refer to: People * Simon (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Simon * Simon (surname), including a list of people with the surname Simon * Eugène Simon, French naturalist and the genus ...

. In

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

countries, it is derived from the given name ''Muna'', meaning "unreachable wishes". It is the plural form of the word Munia (مـُـنيه). Notable people with the surname include: * Domenico Mona (1550–1602), Italian late-Renaissance painter * István Móna (1940–2010), Hungarian modern pentathlete and Olympic champion * Khwezi Mona (born 1992), South African rugby union player

References