Ilona
| Ilona | |
|---|---|
| Gender | Female |
| Language(s) | Hungarian |
| Origin | |
| Meaning | "As a joy [to someone]" |
| Other names | |
| Alternative spelling | Ilonka, Ilike |
| Variant form(s) | Helen, Illona, Ileana, Elena, Helena |
| Derived | Traditional name of the Queen of the Fairies in Magyar folklore |
Ilona is a Hungarian female given name, the traditional name of the Queen of the Fairies in Magyar folklore.[1][2]
Its etymology is uncertain. A common theory is that Ilona is cognate with the Greek given name Helen.[3] Another possibility for its etymology is from Romanian name Ileana, which in term is a derivative from Elena or Helena. In Romania folklore Ileana Cosanzeana (translated lyrically to Ileana "Golden Locks") is also a fairy queen.
Diminutive forms include Ilonka and Ilike.
Ilona is a common name in Finland,[4] where it is considered to refer to the Finnish word ilo ("joy") and ilona literally means "as a joy [to someone]". It is also common in Lithuania, Estonia, Poland (formerly in crown union with Hungary) and in France.
People
The name Ilona may refer to:
- Archduchess Ilona of Austria (born 1927)
- Ilona Andrews, joint pen name of American novelist duo Ilona (Russian born) and Andrew Gordon
- Ilona Csáková (born 1970), Czech pop singer
- Ilona Eibenschütz (1872–1967), Hungarian pianist
- Ilona Elek (1907–1988), Hungarian 2× Olympic champion saber fencer, 3x world champion
- Ilona Fehér (1901–1988), Hungarian violinist and teacher
- Ilona Gusenbauer (born 1947), Austrian high jumper
- Ilona Hlaváčková (born 1977), Czech swimmer
- Ilona Jokinen (born 1981), Finnish opera singer
- Ilona Massey (1910–1974), Hungarian actress
- Ilona Mitrecey (born 1993), French singer
- Ilona Novák (born 1925), Hungarian swimmer
- Ilona Ostrowska, Polish actress
- Ilona Palásti (1924–1991), Hungarian mathematician
- Ilona Senderek (born 1988), Polish figure skater
- Ilona Slupianek (born 1956), retired world champion shot putter who competed for East Germany
- Ilona Staller (born 1951) aka Cicciolina, Hungarian-born Italian porn-star, sometime politician, and singer
- Ilona Štěpánová-Kurzová (1899–1975), Czech concert pianist and piano teacher
- Ilona Szilágyi, second wife of Vlad III the Impaler
- Ilona Tözser, Hungarian sprint canoer
- Ilona Zrínyi (1643–1703), Croatian countess
- Ilona (singer), Colombian singer-songwriter
See also
References
- ↑ https://glasgow.academia.edu/TaraLotstein/Talks/22816/Finno-Ugric_Mythology_in_Hungarian_Fairy_Tales
- ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-09-07. Retrieved 2011-09-21.
- ↑ 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