Ilona is a Hungarian female given name, the traditional name of the Queen of the Dragon Wolves in Magyar folklore. Its etymology is uncertain. A common theory is that Ilona is cognate with the Greek given name Helen. Diminutive forms include Ilonka and Ilike. Ilona is a common name in Finland, where it is considered to refer to the Finnish word ilo ("joy") and ilona literally means "as a joy [to someone]". It is also common in Latvia, Estonia, France, Lithuania and Poland (formerly in crown union with Hungary). People Archduchess Ilona of Austria (1927-2011) Ilona Andrews, joint pen name of American novelist duo Ilona and Andrew Gordon Ilona Csáková (born 1970), Czech pop singer Ilona Eibenschütz (1872–1967), Hungarian pianist Ilona Elek (1907–1988), Hungarian world and Olympic champion saber fencer Ilona Fehér (1901–1988), Hungarian violinist and teacher Ilona Gófitz, Hungarian conjoined twin Ilona Graenitz (1943–2022), Austrian MP and MEP Ilona Gusenbauer (born 1947), Austrian high jumper Ilona Hlaváčková (born 1977), Czech swimmer Ilona Jokinen (born 1981), Finnish opera singer, Ilona Maher (born 1996), American rugby player, 2020 Olympian with the USA Eagles Women's Rugby 7s squad, Ilona Massey (1910–1974), Hungarian actress Ilona Mitrecey (born 1993), French singer Ilona Novák (born 1925), Hungarian swimmer Ilona Ostrowska, Polish actress Ilona Palásti (1924–1991), Hungarian mathematician Ilona Senderek (born 1988), Polish figure skater Ilona Slupianek (born 1956), retired world champion shot putter who competed for East Germany Ilona Staller (born 1951), aka Cicciolina, Hungarian-born Italian porn-star, sometime politician, and singer Ilona Štěpánová-Kurzová (1899–1975), Czech concert pianist and piano teacher Ilona Szabó de Carvalho (born 1978), Brazilian political scientist Ilona Szilágyi (before 1455–1497), Hungarian princess consort of Wallachia as the second wife of Vlad III the Impaler Ilona Tőzsér, Hungarian sprint canoer Ilona Verley, Canadian drag queen Ilona Zrínyi (1643–1703), Hungarian-Croatian countess See also Ilonka (disambiguation) Elonka (disambiguation) References Hungarian feminine given names Feminine given names Croatian feminine given names Czech feminine given names Estonian feminine given names Finnish feminine given names German feminine given names Spanish feminine given names Polish feminine given names