Ida

German
"industrious one"

Ida Origin and Meaning

The name Ida is a girl's name of German origin meaning "industrious one".

Many vowel names stylish a century ago are coming back, and Ida seems like a possible, logical successor to Ada and Ava.

A century ago, Ida was considered "sweet as apple cider," and was Number 10 on the hit parade of names. Its popularity then was inspired by a Tennyson poem, of which the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta Princess Ida, was a "respectful operatic perversion."

Ida hasn't been in the Top 1000 since the 1980s, but we do see it as slated to rise again. It is hugely popular right now in Scandinavia and German-speaking parts — Top 100 in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Germany, and Austria — where it's pronounced EE-da.

Ida appears in Greek and Hindu mythology; Mount Ida, on Crete, is considered the birthplace of the god Zeus. Journalist Ida B. Wells was its most well-known bearer in the US.

# 950 in the US

Ida Rank in US Top 1000

# 276 on Nameberry

Ida Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Ida Popularity

Famous People Named Ida

  • Saint Ida of Herzfeld
    German duchess devoted to the poor
  • Ida Lupino
    English,American actress
  • Ida Minerva Tarbell
    American muckraking journalist
  • Ida Bell Wells
    American journalist and civil rights leader
  • Ida Saxton McKinley
    U.S. First Lady as wife of President William McKinley
  • Ida
    Princess of Saxe,Meiningen; Princess of Saxe,Weimar,Eisenach
  • Ida Matilda Adelaide
    Princess of Schaumburg,Lippe, Princess Reuss of Greiz; mother,in,law of Wilhelm II
  • Ida
    Princess of Anhalt,Bernburg,Schaumburg,Hoym; Hereditary Princess of Oldenburg
  • Ida Caroline
    Princess of Waldeck and Pyrmont; Princess consort of Schaumberg,Lippe
  • Ida Rubinstein
    Russian dancer, actress, art patron and Belle Époque figure
  • Ida Maria (Børli Sivertsen)
    Norwegian singer
  • Ida de Tosny
    mistress of King Henry II of England
  • Ida Pauline Rolf
    American biochemist; creator of Structural Integration or "Rolfing"
  • Ida Helen Ogilvie
    American educator and geologist
  • Ida Corr
    Danish singer,songwriter
  • Ida Ljungqvist
    Tanzanian,Swedish model
  • Ida Østergaard Madsen
    Danish pop singer
  • Ida Gjølga Jenshus
    Norwegian country music singer
  • Ida Applebroog
    American painter
  • Ida Dwinger
    Danish actress
  • Ida Fink
    Polish,Israeli author
  • Ida Haendel
    Polish,British violinist
  • Ida Kamińska
    Russian,Polish actress
  • Idalia Maria "Ida" Kurcz
    Polish psychologist
  • Ida Łotocka
    Huelle, Polish painter
  • Ida Henriette da Fonseca
    Danish opera singer
  • Ida Nowakowska
    Polish actress
  • Ida Amanda "Maxida" Märak
    Swedish,Sami jojk,singer, hip hop artist and activist

Ida in Pop Culture

  • Ida Svensson
    character in Astrid Lindgren's "Emil of Lönneberga"
  • Ida Quagmire (born Dan Quagmire)
    character on TV's "Family Guy"
  • "Little Ida's Flowers
    " short story by Hans Christian Andersen.
  • Ida Lebenstein
    character in 2013 Polish film "Ida"
  • Ida
    character in Jaishankar Prasad's poem "Kamayani"
  • Ida Barlow
    character on British soap "Coronation Street"
  • "Princess Ida
    " comic opera by Gilbert and Sullivan and its main character
  • Ida Borejko
    character in the "Jeżycjada" series by Małgorzata Musierowicz
  • Ida Jungman
    character in "Bunderbrookowie" by Tomasz Mann
  • Ida Corwin
    character in "Mildred Pierce" by James M. Cain
  • "Ida"
    the Lost Princess in mobile game "Monument Valley"
  • "Ida
    Sweet as Apple Cider," popular song written by Eddie Munson
  • Ida Vanderboom (maiden name Reiziger)
    character in Rusty Lake: Roots

Ida in Nameberry Forums