Ida
About Ida
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.
As of October 2026, Ida ranked #1120 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #7 in 1881, Nameberry popularity #326.
Editor's take: The name Ida is a girl's name of German origin meaning "industrious one".
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #1,495 | 149 | 83.4 |
| 2015 | #1,430 | 162 | 90.8 |
| 2016 | #1,246 | 196 | 110.6 |
| 2017 | #1,304 | 180 | 104.3 |
| 2018 | #1,216 | 193 | 113.5 |
| 2019 | #1,264 | 184 | 109.6 |
| 2020 | #1,178 | 197 | 121.9 |
| 2021 | #1,113 | 222 | 135.3 |
| 2022 | #1,104 | 226 | 137.8 |
| 2023 | #1,189 | 202 | 125.9 |
| 2024 | #1,143 | 211 | 130.2 |
| 2025 | #1,120 | 209 | 130 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Ida.
- Alma
- Greta
- Ingrid
- Nell
- Maude
- Ines
- Etta
- Ramona
- Effie
- Blythe
- Winifred
- Edie
- Philippa
- Margo
- Orla
- Sylvie
- Cecily
- Mavis
- Enid
- Millicent
Ida on lists
Famous Idas
- Saint Ida of Herzfeld
German duchess devoted to the poor
- Ida Lupino
English,American actress
- Ida Minerva Tarbell
American muckraking journalist
- Ida Bell Wells
American journalist and civil rights leader
- Ida Saxton McKinley
U.S. First Lady as wife of President William McKinley
- Ida
Princess of Saxe,Meiningen; Princess of Saxe,Weimar,Eisenach
- Ida Matilda Adelaide
Princess of Schaumburg,Lippe, Princess Reuss of Greiz; mother,in,law of Wilhelm II
- Ida
Princess of Anhalt,Bernburg,Schaumburg,Hoym; Hereditary Princess of Oldenburg
- Ida Caroline
Princess of Waldeck and Pyrmont; Princess consort of Schaumberg,Lippe
- Ida Rubinstein
Russian dancer, actress, art patron and Belle Époque figure
- Ida Maria (Børli Sivertsen)
Norwegian singer
- Ida de Tosny
mistress of King Henry II of England
- Ida Pauline Rolf
American biochemist; creator of Structural Integration or "Rolfing"
- Ida Helen Ogilvie
American educator and geologist
- Ida Corr
Danish singer,songwriter
- Ida Ljungqvist
Tanzanian,Swedish model
- Ida Østergaard Madsen
Danish pop singer
- Ida Gjølga Jenshus
Norwegian country music singer
- Ida Applebroog
American painter
- Ida Dwinger
Danish actress
- Ida Fink
Polish,Israeli author
- Ida Haendel
Polish,British violinist
- Ida Kamińska
Russian,Polish actress
- Idalia Maria "Ida" Kurcz
Polish psychologist
- Ida Łotocka
Huelle, Polish painter
- Ida Henriette da Fonseca
Danish opera singer
- Ida Nowakowska
Polish actress
- Ida Amanda "Maxida" Märak
Swedish,Sami jojk,singer, hip hop artist and activist
Ida in pop culture
- Ida Svensson
character 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 Lebenstein
character in 2013 Polish film "Ida"
- Ida
character in Jaishankar Prasad's poem "Kamayani"
- Ida Barlow
character on British soap "Coronation Street"
- "Princess Ida
" comic opera by Gilbert and Sullivan and its main character
- Ida Borejko
character in the "Jeżycjada" series by Małgorzata Musierowicz
- Ida Jungman
character in "Bunderbrookowie" by Tomasz Mann
- Ida Corwin
character in "Mildred Pierce" by James M. Cain
- "Ida"
the Lost Princess in mobile game "Monument Valley"
- "Ida
Sweet as Apple Cider," popular song written by Eddie Munson
- Ida Vanderboom (maiden name Reiziger)
character in Rusty Lake: Roots
- Ida Welker
character in series "Malcolm in the Middle"
- Ida Perez
character from “Just Add Magic”
Variations & nicknames
- IduskaCzech
- IdaliaItalian
- ItaYiddish
- IdeFrench
- ItkaPolish
- AidaItalian