UK boy's name
Ilja
For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 2018. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.
Ilja is a boy's name in the UK records. People looking for Ilja popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2018 in this profile. In that release it ranked #4749, with 3 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2010, with 5 births.
This profile covers 29 England and Wales registrations across 8 recorded years from 2006 to 2018. The figures come from ONS England and Wales, so the page is a view of published baby-name registrations rather than a forecast or a live count of people using the name today.
The latest count is about 60% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.
We estimate that about 29 living people in the UK are called Ilja. This uses published birth registrations from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, then applies ONS national life tables to estimate how many are likely still alive. It does not forecast extra births for 2019 or 2026.
Key insights
- • Ilja ranked #4749 for boys in England and Wales in 2018, with 3 registrations.
- • The name peaked in 2010, when 5 boys were registered as Ilja.
- • About 29 living people in the UK are estimated to have Ilja as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.
Latest rank (E&W)
#4749
2018
Births in 2018
3
Latest year
Peak year
2010
5 births
Estimated living
29
2026
Popularity
Ilja over time
The chart below shows babies named Ilja registered in England and Wales in the years where the name appears in the published records, from 2006 to 2018. Empty years are left out so rare names are not stretched across long periods where the published files do not show any registrations.
For Ilja, the clearest high point is 2010. The latest England and Wales figure is 3 births in 2018, compared with 5 at the peak.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ilja by decade
Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Ilja was a short-lived spike or a name that stayed in regular use. Average rank is calculated only from years where a published rank exists.
| Decade | Average rank | Total births | Years covered |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | #4147 | 23 | 6 |
| 2000s | #4290 | 6 | 2 |
Related
Names similar to Ilja
- Isaac 49,129
- Ibrahim 14,115
- Ismail 4,679
- Isaiah 4,629
- Idris 3,810
- Ivan 3,146
- Isa 2,943
- Ian 2,805
- Ilyas 2,552
- Ieuan 2,515
- Ibraheem 2,384
- Ioan 2,295
FAQ
Ilja: questions and answers
How popular is the name Ilja in the UK right now?
In 2018, Ilja was ranked #4749 for boys in England and Wales, with 3 births registered.
When was Ilja most popular?
The peak year on record was 2010, with 5 babies registered as Ilja in England and Wales.
How many people are called Ilja in the UK?
A total of 29 babies have been registered as Ilja across the 8 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here.
Which records is this page based on?
The England and Wales timeline uses ONS baby-name records. Scotland figures come from NRS and Northern Ireland figures come from NISRA. Counts are registrations in published baby-name files. The living estimate uses those birth registrations with ONS national life tables.