girl's name
Mona
MOH-nuh
- Origin Irish
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 2
- Letters 4
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 53,998
France
#222
2025 births
Mona in Mona Lisa is not a name — it contracts ma donna, my lady, so the painting's title is closer to Madam Lisa than to anyone actually called Mona. France ranks the name 222nd, far ahead of every other market we track.
- Mona is a name of Irish origin.
- Peaked in 1957, when 1,231 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 54,351 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Mona over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s 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 |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 204 |
| 1890s | 522 |
| 1900s | 691 |
| 1910s | 2,077 |
| 1920s | 3,446 |
| 1930s | 6,032 |
| 1940s | 4,240 |
| 1950s | 11,181 |
| 1960s | 8,805 |
| 1970s | 3,387 |
| 1980s | 1,516 |
| 1990s | 1,229 |
| 2000s | 940 |
| 2010s | 1,026 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 522 |
What Mona means
Mona means noble in Irish, or wishes in Arabic, or serves as a short form of Monica. Three unrelated sources share the spelling and nothing else.
Where Mona comes from
Mona has at least three origins. The Irish Muadhnait is a diminutive of muadh, noble. The Arabic Muna means wishes or desires. It also shortens Monica, whose own root is disputed. The Italian monna, the contraction of ma donna behind Mona Lisa, is a title of address rather than a name — so the most famous Mona in the world is not one. Our data shows France taking the name up sharply in recent years.
Mona in use
Mona peaked in the United States in 1957, when 1,231 babies were registered, and our data marks it stable rather than falling. It now ranks 222nd in France on 260 births — its strongest market by a wide margin — then 825th in Ireland on 4, 1964th in England and Wales on 15 and 2806th in the United States on 61, across 53,998 lifetime births in five of the seven markets we track. France set its own peak of 275 births in 2024.
How popular is Mona?
In 2025, Mona was given to 61 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Mona 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 Mona
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Mona also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Mona over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Mona 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.
- Berber
- Monica
- Czech
- Monika
- Estonian
- Monika
- Finnish
- Moona
- German
- Monika
- Greek
- Monika
- Italian
- Monica
- Latin
- Monica
- Latvian
- Monika
- Lithuanian
- Monika
- Polish
- Monika
- Punic
- Monica
- Seediq
- Muna
- Slovene
- Monika
- Other forms
- Forms we hold no single language for — some are used across several, some are simply spelled differently.
- Mouna
Sibling names for Mona
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Mona — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Mona
What does the name Mona mean?
Noble in Irish, wishes in Arabic, or a short form of Monica — three unrelated sources.
Is Mona Lisa a name?
No. Mona there contracts ma donna, my lady, so it is a form of address.
Where is Mona most used?
France at 222nd, far ahead of every other market we track.
Is Mona rising in France?
France set its own peak of 275 births in 2024, the most recent full year we hold.
How popular is the name Mona?
In 2025, Mona was given to 61 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Is Mona a girl's or a boy's name?
Mona is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Mona?
Mona has 2 syllables.
When was Mona most popular?
Mona peaked in 1957, when 1,231 babies were given the name. Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
Is Mona a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Mona currently ranks #222 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.