Fiona
Torn between Fiona and another name? Compare them side by side →
Meaning
literary Scottish name popularized by James Macpherson and related to Gaelic fionn, 'white' or 'fair'
Forever tied to Fiona Macleod, the woman writer William Sharp invented and impersonated for a decade.
The story
Fiona's roots and its Hong Kong life belong in the same story, but they are not the same thing. Fiona was popularized by the Scottish writer James Macpherson and is generally connected with Gaelic fionn, white or fair. Singer and actor Fiona Sit gives the name a clear contemporary Hong Kong presence. That use does not make the name etymologically Cantonese. It shows how a Hong Kong family may carry a character-based Chinese name and an English or international name for school, work, or life across languages. The US curve is young and modest, becoming visible mainly from the late twentieth century. A public bearer can make a name feel familiar without proving why any family chose it, so the cultural example and the chart should not be confused. A literary Scottish creation can thus sound at home in Cantonese-speaking Hong Kong, an example of a name gaining new cultural homes without changing its root.
How popular is Fiona around the world?
In the United States, 5,251 babies were named Fiona between 2020 and 2025. In Austria, 153 girls named Fiona were born in 2025, the 51st most common name among girls that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
Fiona is on the official records of the United States, Austria, Norway, Ireland, Canada, South Australia, Scotland, England and Wales, France, Spain, Chile, Mexico City, Argentina and Brazil.
United States
1 in 4,100
In the United States, 5,251 babies were named Fiona between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Fiona peaked in the 2010s. Fiona went to 1,495 US babies in 2015 and 654 in 2025, 44% of the earlier figure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Austria
1 in 500
In Austria, 153 girls named Fiona were born in 2025, the 51st most common name among girls that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
share of that year’s births on record
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
Norway
1 in 3,800register 2026
In Norway, 7 girls were given the name Fiona in 2025.
share of the girls on the register for that year, SSB’s own figure
People who have or have had a Norwegian ID number, emigrants left out, from Statistics Norway’s name statistics (release of January 2026): by year of birth for 1945–2020 (everyone born that year who was ever registered in Norway, including people who registered later and people who have since died) and by year of naming from 2021; only first names carried by 200 or more living people are listed, counts under 4 are withheld, and SSB merges spellings that differ only by letters outside the Norwegian alphabet. The shares are SSB’s own, of the people of that sex and year in that count; the 2025 figure counts the children named that year, and no year is a count of births. Source: Statistics Norway (SSB), table 10467 (updated 2026-01-28)
Ireland
1 in 4,500
In Ireland, 12 girls named Fiona were born in 2025, the 325th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
Canada
1 in 4,600
In Canada, 79 girls named Fiona were born in 2024, the 378th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
South Australia
1 in 9,2002017
In South Australia, 2 girls were registered as Fiona in 2017.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Scotland
1 in 11,000
In Scotland, 4 girls named Fiona were registered in 2024, the 638th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
England and Wales
1 in 25,000
In England and Wales, 23 girls named Fiona were born in 2025, ranked 1,362nd among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
France
1 in 43,000
In France, about 15 girls named Fiona were born in 2025, ranked 2,098th among girls that year.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)
Spain
1 in 48,000
In Spain, 939 residents are named Fiona, ranked 1,538th among women, with a mean age of 22.3 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
Chile
1 in 89,000
In Chile, 2 girls were registered as Fiona in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.
share of that year’s name registrations
First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021
Mexico City City
1 in 120,000
In Mexico City, there was 1 registration of Fiona in 2022.
share of that year’s registrations in the city
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Argentina
1 in 220,000
In Argentina, 3 newborns were given the name Fiona in 2024.
share of that year’s name registrations
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Brazil
At the 2022 census, 82 people in Brazil were named Fiona, ranked 47,432nd, with a median age of 24.
Among people named Fiona living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 2000s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
Montevideo City
last on record 2010
Fiona is not on the 2011 record for Montevideo, whose registry withholds nothing, so the spelling was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
New South Wales
outside the top 100
Fiona is not in the 2025 top 100 for New South Wales.
share of that year’s top-100 registrations
New South Wales (not all of Australia) publishes only each year’s 100 most popular names per sex, so a missing year means below that top 100, not rare. Source: NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, popular baby names
New Zealand
last on record 2017
Fiona is not on the 2025 record for New Zealand, where names under 10 in a year are excluded at source.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
Poland
last on record 2022
Fiona is not on the 2025 record for Poland, where names given fewer than 2 times in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 8 in a year, too few to chart.
First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)
Not on the record in Puerto Rico: that registry withholds small counts, so rare uses may sit below its floor.
When you meet Fiona
Most people given the name Fiona in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Where Fiona travels
Irish American · fair, white; a graceful Celtic classic
Keep exploring
Irish American baby names · Cantonese and Hong Kong baby names · Pen names and the names writers chose · Climbers and fallers
The Fiona deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Fiona truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Fiona fits with your family’s names and surname.
Does Fiona fit YOUR family?
nametree reads your family’s names and finds the ones that belong. Free, private, no ads.
Add Fiona to your family’s tree →