Ilona

Ilona is a Magyar (Hungarian) female given name, the traditional name of the Queen of the Fairies in Magyar folklore.^[1][2]

Its etymology is uncertain. A possible origin in the Assyrian word and given name Ilono ("tree") has yet to be proven. A common myth is that Ilona is cognate with the Greek given name Helen.^[3]

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]".^[5] It is also common in Lithuania, 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
• 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 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 noted for defending Palanok Castle for three years
• Ilona (singer), Colombian singer-songwriter

See also

• Ilonka (disambiguation)
• Elonka (disambiguation)

References