Ilona is a feminine given name used primarily in Hungary and Finland, as well as in other parts of Central and Eastern Europe.
The name Ilona is the Hungarian form of the Greek name Helenē (Ἑλένη), which is commonly interpreted to mean “torch,” “light,” or “shining one.” The name likely entered Hungarian through Slavic intermediaries such as Jelena.
In Hungarian folklore, Ilona is also known as the name of the Queen of the Fairies, a mythical figure associated with beauty, magic, and enchantment.
In Finland, Ilona is commonly associated with the Finnish word ilo, meaning “joy.” In this context, ilona can be understood as “as a joy [to someone],” though this interpretation is a folk etymology and not linguistically related to the Greek origin.
People
Archduchess Ilona of Austria (1927–2011)
Ilona Ács (1920–1976), Hungarian freestyle swimmer
Ilona Aczél (1884–1940), Hungarian actress
Ilona Andrássy (1858–1952), Hungarian noblewoman
Ilona Andrews, joint pen name of American novelist duo Ilona and Andrew Gordon
Ilona Banga (1906–1998), Hungarian biochemist
Ilona Bata (born 1955), Hungarian rower
Ilona Békési (born 1953), Hungarian artistic gymnast
Ilona Bell, American academic
Ilona Berecz (born 1947), Hungarian ice dancing coach and former competitor
Ilona Béres (born 1942), Hungarian actress
Ilona Biacsi (born 1985), Hungarian Paralympic athlete
Ilona Borsai (1924–1982), Hungarian musicologist, folk music historian
Ilona Brand (born 1958), German luger
Ilona Breģe (born 1959), Latvian composer
Ilona Bruzsenyák (born 1950), Hungarian athletics competitor
Ilona Bublová (born 1977), Czech cross-country skier
Ilona Burgrová (born 1984), Czech basketball player
Ilona Csáková (born 1970), Czech pop singer
Ilona Csepreghyné-Meznerics (1906–1977), Hungarian stratigrapher and invertebrate paleontologist
Ilona Dajbukát (1892–1976), Hungarian actress
Ilona Dávid (born 1972), Hungarian economist
Ilona DeVito di Porriasa (1939–2013), Hungarian-born countess
Ilona Duczyńska (1897–1978), Polish Hungarian Canadian revolutionary, journalist, translator, engineer and historian
Ilona Durigo (1881–1943), Hungarian classical contralto
Ilona Dzelme (born 1966), Latvian windsurfer
Ilona Edelsheim-Gyulai (1918–2013), Hungarian noblewoman
Ilona Eibenschütz (1872–1967), Hungarian pianist
Ilona Ékes, Hungarian politician
Ilona Elek (1907–1988), Hungarian world and Olympic champion saber fencer
Ilona Fehér (1901–1988), Hungarian violinist and teacher
Ilona Felicjańska (born 1970), Polish model
Ilona Georgiana Ghioroaie (born 1998), Romanian tennis player
Ilona Gófitz, Hungarian conjoined twin
Ilona Graenitz (1943–2022), Austrian MP and MEP
Ilona Granet, American artist
Ilona Gusenbauer (born 1947), Austrian high jumper
Ilona Harima (1911–1986), Finnish artist
Ilona Hegedűs, Hungarian writer
Ilona Hlaváčková (born 1977), Czech swimmer
Ilona Hoeksma (born 1991), Dutch cyclist
Ilona Hubay (1902–1982), Hungarian incunabula specialist
Ilona Jokinen (born 1981), Finnish opera singer
Ilona Jurševska (born 1970), Latvian politician
Ilona Kabos (1893–1973), Hungarian-British pianist
Ilona Karmel (1925–2000), American writer
Ilona Kassai (1928–2025), Hungarian actress
Ilona Katliarenka (born 1993), Belarusian synchronized swimmer
Ilona Kerekes (1926–2023), Hungarian table tennis player
Ilona Keserü (born 1933), Hungarian artist
Ilona Khubaeva, South Ossetian politician
Ilona Kickbusch (born 1948), German scientist
Ilona Király, Hungarian table tennis player
Ilona Kökény (1891–1947), Hungarian actress
Ilona Kolonits (1922–2002), Hungarian film director and news correspondent
Ilona Korstin (born 1980), Russian basketball player
Ilona Koutny (born 1953), Hungarian linguist and Esperantist
Ilona Kovács (born 1960), Hungarian basketball player
Ilona Kremen (born 1994), Belarusian tennis player
Ilona Kronstein (1897–1948), Hungarian artist
Ilona Kurdy (1951–2007), Hungarian painter and sculptor
Ilona Lagas (born 1956), Dutch politician
Ilona Lőrincz (born 1955), Hungarian basketball player
Ilona Lucassen (born 1997), Dutch judoka
Ilona Madary (1916–2003), Hungarian rhythmic gymnast
Ilona Mądra (born 1966), Polish basketball player
Ilona Maher (born 1996), American rugby player, 2020 Olympian with the USA Eagles Women's Rugby 7s squad
Ilona Makláry-Buzek (born 1945), Hungarian volleyball player
Ilona Marhele (born 1986), Latvian long-distance runner
Ilona Marita Lorenz (1939–2019), German woman who had an affair with Fidel Castro and betrayed a CIA assassination attempt against him
Ilona Markova (born 2002), Russian ice hockey player
Ilona Massey (1910–1974), Hungarian actress
Ilona Masson (born 2001), Belgian athlete
Ilona Melnichenko, Soviet figure skater
Ilona Mihályka, Hungarian handball player
Ilona Mitrecey (born 1993), French singer
Ilona Mokronowska (born 1972), Polish rower
Ilona Mononen (born 2003), Finnish athlete
Ilona Murai Kerman (1923 or 1924–2020), American dancer
Ilona Náday (1874–1949), Hungarian singer and actress
Ilona Nagy (born 1951), Hungarian handball player
Ilona Novák (1925–2019), Hungarian swimmer
Ilona Ostrowska (born 1974), Polish actress
Ilona Otto (born 1979), German voice actress
Ilona M. Otto, climate change scientist
Ilona Pál (born 1954), Hungarian sprinter
Ilona Palásti (1924–1991), Hungarian mathematician
Ilona Poljakova (born 1973), Estonian tennis player
Ilona Prokopevniuk (born 1997), Ukrainian freestyle swimmer
Ilona Prunyi (born 1941), Hungarian music educator
Ilona Richter (born 1953), German rower
Ilona Riipinen (born 1982), Finnish physicist
Ilona Rodgers (born 1942), English actress
Ilona Rolfes (born 1973), German microwave engineer
Ilona Royce Smithkin (1920–2021), American artist, author, model and performer
Ilona Ruotsalainen (born 1981), Finnish snowboarder
Ilona Sasváriné Paulik (1954–1999), Hungarian para table tennis player
Ilona Sekacz (born 1948), British composer
Ilona Semkiv (born 1994), Ukrainian freestyle swimmer
Ilona Senderek (born 1988), Polish figure skater
Ilona Slupianek (born 1956), retired world champion shot putter who competed for East Germany
Ilona Sojda (born 1987), Polish singer
Ilona Staller (born 1951), a.k.a. Cicciolina, Hungarian-born Italian porn-star, sometime politician, and singer
Ilona Štěpánová-Kurzová (1899–1975), Czech concert pianist and piano teacher
Ilona Stetina (1855–1932), Romanian educator and activist
Ilona Szabó de Carvalho (born 1978), Brazilian political scientist
Ilona Szatmári Waldau (born 1962), Swedish politician
Ilona Szilágyi (before 1455–1497), Hungarian princess consort of Wallachia as the second wife of Vlad III the Impaler
Ilona Szoyer (1879–1956), opera singer
Ilona Szwarc, Polish photographer
Ilona Timchenko, Russian pianist
Ilona Tolnai-Rákhely (1921–2011), Hungarian sprinter
Ilona Tóth (1932–1957), Hungarian dissident
Ilona Tőzsér, Hungarian sprint canoer
Ilona Tyuryaeva (born 1968), Transnistrian politician
Ilona Uhlíková-Voštová (born 1954), Czechoslovak table tennis player
Ilona Usovich (born 1982), Belarusian sprinter
Ilona Váradi (1891–1945), Hungarian tennis player
Ilona Vargha (1907–1973), Hungarian fencer
Ilona Verley (born 1995), Canadian drag performer
Ilona Vincze-Krausz (1902–1998), Hungarian-Israeli piano teacher
Ilona Vörösmarty (1846–1910), Hungarian noblewoman
Ilona Walta (born 2006), Finnish footballer
Ilona Yudina (1984–2018), Ukrainian sitting volleyball player
Ilona Zeynalová (born 2005), Azerbaijani rhythmic gymnast
Ilona Zrínyi (1643–1703), Hungarian-Croatian countess