Mona

Girl · Irish and Italian

Mona

Say it: MOH-nuh

Meaning

Partly an anglicized form of Irish Muadhnait, from muadh 'noble, good'; also associated with the Mona Lisa, where Mona is short for Italian madonna 'my lady'.

Likelythe main view, with some doubt.

Used in English from the late 19th century, popular in the US in the 1910s to 1930s.

Its wave through time

Fading since the 1930s

In the United States

45,383 babies given this name since 1880
At its height in 1935, about 1 in 1,600 girls
99 babies in 2020

Through the ages

Used by

Irish American English

The family of the name

Irish	Muadhnait

Names worth a look

MollieGirlA pet form of Mary, from Hebrew Miryam, whose meaning is uncertain.Victorian · peak 1886

BernadetteGirlFrench feminine diminutive of Bernard, from Germanic bern 'bear' and hart 'hard, brave'.Victorian · peak 1946 · forgotten

MurielGirlProbably from a Celtic name meaning 'sea-bright', from muir 'sea' and geal 'bright'.Middle Ages · peak 1922 · forgotten

NorahGirlA spelling of Nora, a short form of Honora (Latin honor 'honour') and sometimes of Eleanor.Victorian · peak 2017

PhilomenaGirlGreek, usually explained as 'beloved' (philoumenē) or 'friend of strength' (philos and menos); the first is the more…Victorian · peak 1908

BridgetGirlFrom Irish Brighid, probably from a Celtic word meaning 'high, exalted'.Middle Ages · peak 1973

MonicaGirlUncertain, possibly of Punic or Berber origin; links to Greek monos 'alone' or Latin monere 'to advise' are folk…Early Medieval · peak 1973

ManuelBoyShort for Emmanuel, from Hebrew Immanuel 'God is with us'.Colonial · peak 1929

Where this comes from

United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source

Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.

Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.