Ilija
Ilija is a South Slavic male given name, cognate of Ilya/Elijah.
- Macedonian
- Serbian
- Croatian
- Bulgarian
Meaning & Origin of Ilija
What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.
Ilija is a South Slavic male given name, cognate of Ilya/Elijah.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →
Cultural Origins (via Behind the Name)
- Macedonian
- Serbian
- Croatian
- Bulgarian
The Story of Ilija
Ilija first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby boy name in 1971, with 5 babies given the name that year. The name hit its high-water mark in 2024: 13 births, good for #6,443 nationwide. About 31% of every Ilija on record arrived during the 2000s, its defining decade. Ilija last appeared in the published SSA data in 2024, with 13 recorded births — it has not charted nationally since. All told, over 172 Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1970s to the 2020s.
Popularity Over Time
Popularity by State
Variants & Related Forms of Ilija
Foreign forms, alternate spellings, and nicknames that share roots with Ilija. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Names that sound like Ilija
Phonetically similar names — useful when Ilija is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.
Frequently Asked Questions about Ilija
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How popular is Ilija in 2026?
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About the name Ilija
Ilija is a boy baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1971 and has accumulated 172 births in the dataset. Ilija's peak popularity came in 2024 when it ranked #6,443. Use the chart and map above to compare Ilija's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.
Continue exploring
- Top names of 2024 →
- Names of the 2020s →
- Names starting with "I" →
- Browse all boy names →
- Top names of 2026 →
Data sources
- Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
- Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
- Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
- Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
- Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .
Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.