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Ida

Heart
German
"industrious one"

Ida Origin and Meaning

The name Ida is a girl's name of German origin meaning "industrious one".

Many vowel names stylish a century ago are coming back, and Ida seems like a possible, logical successor to Ada and Ava.

A century ago, Ida was considered "sweet as apple cider," and was Number 10 on the hit parade of names. Its popularity then was inspired by a Tennyson poem, of which the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta Princess Ida, was a "respectful operatic perversion."

Ida hasn't been in the Top 1000 since the 1980s, but we do see it as slated to rise again. It is hugely popular right now in Scandinavia and German-speaking parts — Top 100 in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Germany, and Austria — where it's pronounced EE-da.

Ida appears in Greek and Hindu mythology; Mount Ida, on Crete, is considered the birthplace of the god Zeus. Journalist Ida B. Wells was its most well-known bearer in the US.

# 950 in the US

Ida Rank in US Top 1000

# 326 on Nameberry

Ida Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Ida Popularity

20 Names Similar to Ida

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Ida.

Famous People Named Ida

  • Saint Ida of HerzfeldGerman duchess devoted to the poor
  • Ida LupinoEnglish,American actress
  • Ida Minerva TarbellAmerican muckraking journalist
  • Ida Bell WellsAmerican journalist and civil rights leader
  • Ida Saxton McKinleyU.S. First Lady as wife of President William McKinley
  • IdaPrincess of Saxe,Meiningen; Princess of Saxe,Weimar,Eisenach
  • Ida Matilda AdelaidePrincess of Schaumburg,Lippe, Princess Reuss of Greiz; mother,in,law of Wilhelm II
  • IdaPrincess of Anhalt,Bernburg,Schaumburg,Hoym; Hereditary Princess of Oldenburg
  • Ida CarolinePrincess of Waldeck and Pyrmont; Princess consort of Schaumberg,Lippe
  • Ida RubinsteinRussian dancer, actress, art patron and Belle Époque figure
  • Ida Maria (Børli Sivertsen)Norwegian singer
  • Ida de Tosnymistress of King Henry II of England
  • Ida Pauline RolfAmerican biochemist; creator of Structural Integration or "Rolfing"
  • Ida Helen OgilvieAmerican educator and geologist
  • Ida CorrDanish singer,songwriter
  • Ida LjungqvistTanzanian,Swedish model
  • Ida Østergaard MadsenDanish pop singer
  • Ida Gjølga JenshusNorwegian country music singer
  • Ida ApplebroogAmerican painter
  • Ida DwingerDanish actress
  • Ida FinkPolish,Israeli author
  • Ida HaendelPolish,British violinist
  • Ida KamińskaRussian,Polish actress
  • Idalia Maria "Ida" KurczPolish psychologist
  • Ida ŁotockaHuelle, Polish painter
  • Ida Henriette da FonsecaDanish opera singer
  • Ida NowakowskaPolish actress
  • Ida Amanda "Maxida" MärakSwedish,Sami jojk,singer, hip hop artist and activist

Ida in Pop Culture

  • Ida Svenssoncharacter in Astrid Lindgren's "Emil of Lönneberga"
  • Ida Quagmire (born Dan Quagmire)character on TV's "Family Guy"
  • "Little Ida's Flowers" short story by Hans Christian Andersen.
  • Ida Lebensteincharacter in 2013 Polish film "Ida"
  • Idacharacter in Jaishankar Prasad's poem "Kamayani"
  • Ida Barlowcharacter on British soap "Coronation Street"
  • "Princess Ida" comic opera by Gilbert and Sullivan and its main character
  • Ida Borejkocharacter in the "Jeżycjada" series by Małgorzata Musierowicz
  • Ida Jungmancharacter in "Bunderbrookowie" by Tomasz Mann
  • Ida Corwincharacter in "Mildred Pierce" by James M. Cain
  • "Ida"the Lost Princess in mobile game "Monument Valley"
  • "IdaSweet as Apple Cider," popular song written by Eddie Munson
  • Ida Vanderboom (maiden name Reiziger)character in Rusty Lake: Roots