Ida is a feminine given name found in Europe and North America. It is popular in Scandinavian countries, where it is pronounced Ee-da.

Ida
GenderFemale
Origin
Word/nameAncient Germanic
Other names
DerivedOld Norse 'ið' meaning 'deed' or 'action'
Related namesIida, Idella

The name has an ancient Germanic etymology, according to which it means ‘industrious’ or ‘prosperous’. It derives from the Germanic root id, meaning "labor, work" (also found in "Iði").[1] Alternatively, it may be related to the name of the Old Norse goddess Iðunn.

Ida also occurs as an anglicisation of the Irish feminine given name Íde.[2]

Ida is a currently popular name in the Nordic countries and is among the top 20 names given to girls born in 2019 in Denmark. It was among the top 20 names for newborn girls in Norway in 2013 and among the top 50 names for newborn girls in Sweden in 2013. It was among the top 10 names for girls born to Swedish speaking families in Finland in 2013. Finnish variant Iida was among the top ten most popular names given to newborn girls in Finland in 2013.

Ida was at its height of popularity in the United States in the 1880s, when it ranked among the top ten names for girls. In an essay from Frank Leslie's Sunday Magazine written in 1887, Ida is a favored name meaning "God-like".[3] It remained among the top 100 most popular names for girls there until 1930. It last ranked among the top 1,000 names for girls in the United States in 1986.

Notable people with the name include:

People

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Fictional characters

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Other figures

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  • Ida, daughter of Corybas and mother of Minos, in Greek mythology
  • Ida (goddess), a goddess in Hinduism

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Mike Campbell. "Meaning, Origin and History of the Name Ida". Behind the Name. Retrieved 2014-02-05.
  2. ^ Ó Corráin, Donnchadh; Maguire, Fidelma (1990). Irish Names. The Lilliput Press. ISBN 978-0-946640-66-9.
  3. ^ Frank Leslie's Sunday Magazine. Frank Leslie. 1887.