Back Ilona Czech Ilona German Ilona Esperanto Ilona Estonian Ilona Finnish Ilona Hungarian Ilona Italian Ilona NB Ilona Polish Илона Russian
| Gender | Female |
|---|---|
| Language(s) | Hungarian, Finnish, Estonian |
| Origin | |
| Meaning | "As a joy [to someone]" (in Finnish)/As Beautiful as the moon(Latin) |
| Other names | |
| Variant form(s) | Helen, Illona, Ilana, Ileana, Elena, Helena |
| Nickname(s) | Ilonka, Ilike, Ica, Illy, Lo, Lujzi |
| Derived | Traditional name of the Queen of the Fairies in Magyar folklore |
Ilona is a Hungarian female name.
In Hungarian female given name, the traditional name of the Queen of the Fairies in Hungarian folklore.[1][2]
Its etymology is uncertain, could be Finno-Ugric, but a common theory is that Ilona is cognate of the Greek given name Helen.[3]
Diminutive forms include Ilonka and Ilike.
Ilona is a common name in Finland,[4] where, according to folk etymology, it refers to the Finnish word ilo ("joy") and ilona literally means "as a joy [to someone]". It is also common in Latvia, Estonia, France, Lithuania and Poland[citation needed] (formerly in crown union with Hungary).[citation needed]
- ^ "Finno-Ugric Mythology in Hungarian Fairy Tales".
- ^ "Hungarian Fairies by Theodora Goss: Summer 2006, Journal of Mythic Arts, Endicott Studio". Archived from the original on 2011-09-07. Retrieved 2011-09-21.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ Jarvis, Stan (2008). Discovering First Names. Osprey Publishing. p. 58. ISBN 978-0-7478-0383-6.
- ^ There are 25,000 women named Ilona in the Finnish Population Register: Name service