Iona - Meaning of Iona
What does Iona mean?
[ 3 syll. io-na, ion-a ] The baby girl name Iona is also used as a boy name, though it is far more popular for girls. It is pronounced ay-OWN-ah (English) †. Iona has its origins in the Old Norse and Old Greek languages. It is used largely in English and Scottish. From Old Norse roots, its meaning is 'yew-tree island; island'. The first name is derived from the name of the Scottish island of Ioua, meaning 'yew-tree island'. The Gaelic name of the island is from the Old Norse ey. A misreading of the island's name could have resulted in its current name Iona. In the 6th century, Saint Columba founded a monastery on the island, which became a base for the spread of Christianity through Scotland and northern England. The first name was adopted by English speakers in the 19th century, and mainly in Scotland.
Iona is a form of the English Ione.
Iona has 18 forms. Forms of the name include Ioana, Ioanah, Ioane, Ioani, Ioann, Ioannah, Ioanne, Ione, Ionee, Ioney, Ioni, Ionia, Ioniah, Ionie, Ionna, Iony, Iyona, and Yohanna.
See also the related categories, tree (forest), english, greek, island, saint, england, northern, and gaelic.
Iona is rare as a baby girl name. At the modest peak of its usage in 1918, 0.034% of baby girls were named Iona. It was #317 in rank then. The baby name has substantially dropped in popularity since then, and is used only on a very light scale now. Out of all girl names in its family, Iona was nevertheless the most popular in 2018. Iona has primarily been a baby girl name in the last century.
Baby names that sound like Iona include Imana, Ionna, Aamena, Aaminah, Aanisah, Aanisha, Aeniesha, Ahana, Ahanah, Ahanna, Ahannah, Ahiemsa, Ahimsa, Aianna, Ainhoah, Amachey, Amachi, Amachie, Amachy, and Amachye.
† Pronunciation for Iona: AY as in "side (S.AY.D)" ; OW as in "oak (OW.K)" ; N as in "knee (N.IY)" ; AH as in "mud (M.AH.D)"
A famous person named Iona is Author, Iona Opie, born 1923, England.
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