Ilona Explained

Ilona
Gender:Female
Meaning:"As a joy [to someone]" (in Finnish)
Language:Hungarian
Language2:Finnish
Language3:Estonian
Nickname:Ilonka, Ilike, Ica, Illy, Lo
Variant Forms:Helen, Illona, Ileana, Elena, Helena
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 (formerly in crown union with Hungary).

People

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Finno-Ugric Mythology in Hungarian Fairy Tales.
  2. Web site: Hungarian Fairies by Theodora Goss: Summer 2006, Journal of Mythic Arts, Endicott Studio . 2011-09-21 . usurped . https://web.archive.org/web/20110907143604/http://www.endicott-studio.com/rdrm/rrHungarianF.html . 2011-09-07 .
  3. Book: Discovering First Names. Jarvis, Stan. 58. Osprey Publishing. 2008. 978-0-7478-0383-6.
  4. There are 25,000 women named Ilona in the Finnish Population Register: Name service