girl's name
Fiona
fee-OH-nuh
- Origin Scottish
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 3
- Letters 5
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 76,743
the United States
#470
2025 births
Fiona was invented by a Scottish poet, and then used as a pen name by a man — William Sharp published as Fiona Macleod for a decade and denied being her until his death.
- Fiona is a name of Scottish origin.
- Peaked in 2017, when 1,683 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 5,069 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1942.
- 3 syllables, with the stress on syllable 2.
Fiona over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1940s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1940s | 47 |
| 1950s | 91 |
| 1960s | 438 |
| 1970s | 597 |
| 1980s | 955 |
| 1990s | 3,133 |
| 2000s | 8,783 |
| 2010s | 14,669 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 5,251 |
What Fiona means
Fiona means fair, white or pale. The Gaelic fionn is the ordinary adjective, and the name was built on it rather than descending from an older form.
Where Fiona comes from
Fiona is a literary coinage on the Gaelic fionn, fair or white — the same element in Fionn mac Cumhaill and in Finlay. James Macpherson used Fiona in his Ossian poems of the 1760s, which he presented as ancient translations and largely wrote himself. William Sharp then adopted Fiona Macleod as a pen name from 1893, publishing a substantial body of work under it and denying the identity until he died in 1905.
Fiona in use
Fiona peaked in the United States in 2017, when 1,683 babies were registered, and our data marks it stable rather than falling. It now ranks 328th in Ireland on 12 births, 470th in the United States on 663, 670th in Scotland on 4, 1373rd in England and Wales on 20 and 2041st in France on 15, across 76,743 lifetime births in six of the seven markets we track. A 2017 peak is unusually recent for a name at this volume.
How popular is Fiona?
In 2025, Fiona was given to 654 babies in the United States, ranking #470 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Fiona is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Fiona
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Fiona also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Fiona over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Fiona in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Fiona
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Fiona — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Fiona
What does the name Fiona mean?
Fair or white — from the Gaelic fionn.
Is Fiona an old Gaelic name?
No. It is a literary coinage, appearing in Macpherson's Ossian poems in the 1760s.
Who was Fiona Macleod?
A pen name used by William Sharp from 1893, who denied the identity until his death in 1905.
How popular is Fiona?
328th in Ireland and 470th in the United States, and our data marks it stable.
Is Fiona a girl's or a boy's name?
Fiona is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Fiona?
Fiona has 3 syllables.
Is Fiona a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Fiona currently ranks #328 in the United States. Its usage has held steady over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.