Fun Facts About the Name Una
- More than 8 thousand babies named Una: U.S. records list 8,108 babies given the name Una from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Una Mean?
Una comes from two different sources, usually treated separately. The Irish name Úna is old and its derivation is not settled: one common suggestion is Irish uan, "lamb," while another is that it was borrowed from Latin ūna, "one." Neither proposal is confirmed by early glosses. Irish Úna passed into English as Una and also as the anglicized spellings Oona and Oonagh. Latin ūna is itself the feminine form of unus, "one," and is also an adverb meaning "together." That Latin word is the sense behind the name of Una, the heroine of Book I of Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene, who stands for truth and for oneness; that is a symbolic reading built on a literal meaning, not a separate etymology. English use of the name draws on both the Irish name and the Latin word.
Una Name History & Origins
The Irish name Úna is the older of the two strands. It is found in medieval Irish sources and was used in Gaelic Ireland and in the Gaelic-speaking Highlands and islands of Scotland, where the form Ùna appears. As the name moved into English, it was written Una, Oona, or Oonagh; Oona and Oonagh are anglicizations of the same Irish name rather than separate names.
English readers met Una in Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene (1590). In Book I, Una travels with the Redcrosse Knight, is separated from him by the enchanter Archimago, and is reunited with him before he frees her parents from a dragon; she represents truth and the one true church. This was a literary use of a name that already existed in Irish, not its first appearance. The spelling with an accent, Úna, marks the long vowel in Irish; English spelling normally drops the accent.
How Popular is the Name Una?
Una recorded its highest annual U.S. birth count in 1921. Its best rank was #331 in 1890.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #3,245 | 49 | 0.0030% |
| 2024 | #3,005 | 55 | 0.0034% |
| 2023 | #3,376 | 48 | 0.0030% |
| 2022 | #2,751 | 63 | 0.0038% |
| 2021 | #3,333 | 48 | 0.0029% |
| 2020 | #2,707 | 62 | 0.0038% |
| 2019 | #2,853 | 59 | 0.0035% |
| 2018 | #3,101 | 53 | 0.0031% |
| 2017 | #3,433 | 46 | 0.0027% |
| 2016 | #2,865 | 60 | 0.0034% |
| 2015 | #3,526 | 45 | 0.0025% |
| 2014 | #3,543 | 45 | 0.0025% |
| 2013 | #3,848 | 40 | 0.0023% |
| 2012 | #4,481 | 33 | 0.0019% |
| 2011 | #4,347 | 34 | 0.0019% |
| 2010 | #5,402 | 26 | 0.0015% |
| 2009 | #4,667 | 32 | 0.0017% |
| 2008 | #4,169 | 38 | 0.0020% |
| 2007 | #4,046 | 39 | 0.0020% |
| 2006 | #5,367 | 26 | 0.0014% |
| 2005 | #3,721 | 40 | 0.0022% |
| 2004 | #5,956 | 21 | 0.0011% |
| 2003 | #4,933 | 26 | 0.0014% |
| 2002 | #5,661 | 21 | 0.0012% |
| 2001 | #4,203 | 30 | 0.0017% |
| 2000 | #4,520 | 27 | 0.0015% |
| 1999 | #5,650 | 19 | 0.0011% |
| 1998 | #6,055 | 17 | 0.0010% |
| 1997 | #12,020 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1996 | #6,716 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 1995 | #6,626 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 1994 | #8,768 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1993 | #9,517 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1992 | #6,637 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 1991 | #7,412 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 1990 | #6,855 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 1989 | #9,640 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1988 | #9,212 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1987 | #5,603 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 1986 | #7,729 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1985 | #9,266 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1984 | #4,960 | 15 | 0.0009% |
| 1983 | #6,199 | 11 | 0.0007% |
| 1982 | #5,893 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 1981 | #6,304 | 11 | 0.0007% |
| 1980 | #5,532 | 13 | 0.0008% |
| 1979 | #5,087 | 14 | 0.0009% |
| 1978 | #4,925 | 14 | 0.0009% |
| 1977 | #4,642 | 15 | 0.0010% |
| 1976 | #4,351 | 15 | 0.0010% |
| 1975 | #5,150 | 12 | 0.0008% |
| 1974 | #3,424 | 20 | 0.0014% |
| 1973 | #3,118 | 22 | 0.0015% |
| 1972 | #2,393 | 31 | 0.0020% |
| 1971 | #3,156 | 22 | 0.0013% |
| 1970 | #2,642 | 28 | 0.0016% |
| 1969 | #2,449 | 29 | 0.0017% |
| 1968 | #2,479 | 26 | 0.0016% |
| 1967 | #2,008 | 35 | 0.0021% |
| 1966 | #2,302 | 28 | 0.0017% |
| 1965 | #2,029 | 34 | 0.0019% |
| 1964 | #1,866 | 41 | 0.0022% |
| 1963 | #1,949 | 37 | 0.0019% |
| 1962 | #1,707 | 45 | 0.0023% |
| 1961 | #1,835 | 40 | 0.0020% |
| 1960 | #1,787 | 41 | 0.0020% |
| 1959 | #1,915 | 35 | 0.0017% |
| 1958 | #1,870 | 35 | 0.0017% |
| 1957 | #1,751 | 39 | 0.0019% |
| 1956 | #1,893 | 33 | 0.0016% |
| 1955 | #1,769 | 36 | 0.0018% |
| 1954 | #1,798 | 34 | 0.0018% |
| 1953 | #1,868 | 30 | 0.0016% |
| 1952 | #1,400 | 49 | 0.0026% |
| 1951 | #1,661 | 34 | 0.0019% |
| 1950 | #1,408 | 43 | 0.0025% |
| 1949 | #1,508 | 38 | 0.0022% |
| 1948 | #1,518 | 38 | 0.0022% |
| 1947 | #1,458 | 42 | 0.0024% |
| 1946 | #1,238 | 49 | 0.0031% |
| 1945 | #1,099 | 52 | 0.0040% |
| 1944 | #1,003 | 61 | 0.0046% |
| 1943 | #1,035 | 60 | 0.0043% |
| 1942 | #1,004 | 61 | 0.0045% |
| 1941 | #941 | 62 | 0.0051% |
| 1940 | #725 | 93 | 0.0081% |
| 1939 | #716 | 91 | 0.0083% |
| 1938 | #655 | 110 | 0.0100% |
| 1937 | #738 | 85 | 0.0080% |
| 1936 | #677 | 97 | 0.0093% |
| 1935 | #687 | 95 | 0.0091% |
| 1934 | #647 | 108 | 0.0103% |
| 1933 | #577 | 124 | 0.0123% |
| 1932 | #623 | 115 | 0.0108% |
| 1931 | #643 | 108 | 0.0101% |
| 1930 | #616 | 126 | 0.0112% |
| 1929 | #636 | 119 | 0.0107% |
| 1928 | #638 | 123 | 0.0107% |
| 1927 | #654 | 123 | 0.0103% |
| 1926 | #591 | 145 | 0.0122% |
| 1925 | #545 | 173 | 0.0142% |
| 1924 | #559 | 171 | 0.0137% |
| 1923 | #586 | 152 | 0.0126% |
| 1922 | #518 | 183 | 0.0152% |
| 1921 | #468 | 217 | 0.0176% |
| 1920 | #501 | 191 | 0.0159% |
| 1919 | #492 | 186 | 0.0165% |
| 1918 | #468 | 204 | 0.0176% |
| 1917 | #527 | 161 | 0.0149% |
| 1916 | #489 | 173 | 0.0166% |
| 1915 | #483 | 164 | 0.0167% |
| 1914 | #464 | 139 | 0.0183% |
| 1913 | #500 | 105 | 0.0168% |
| 1912 | #454 | 109 | 0.0195% |
| 1911 | #486 | 73 | 0.0175% |
| 1910 | #485 | 71 | 0.0179% |
| 1909 | #498 | 57 | 0.0164% |
| 1908 | #487 | 56 | 0.0168% |
| 1907 | #422 | 72 | 0.0226% |
| 1906 | #436 | 63 | 0.0213% |
| 1905 | #495 | 47 | 0.0161% |
| 1904 | #468 | 50 | 0.0182% |
| 1903 | #465 | 48 | 0.0183% |
| 1902 | #453 | 49 | 0.0186% |
| 1901 | #427 | 50 | 0.0209% |
| 1900 | #398 | 70 | 0.0234% |
| 1899 | #401 | 53 | 0.0227% |
| 1898 | #436 | 50 | 0.0193% |
| 1897 | #447 | 44 | 0.0188% |
| 1896 | #402 | 51 | 0.0214% |
| 1895 | #420 | 46 | 0.0197% |
| 1894 | #381 | 55 | 0.0247% |
| 1893 | #413 | 43 | 0.0202% |
| 1892 | #427 | 40 | 0.0188% |
| 1891 | #400 | 39 | 0.0210% |
| 1890 | #331 | 59 | 0.0310% |
| 1889 | #352 | 47 | 0.0264% |
| 1888 | #438 | 33 | 0.0185% |
| 1887 | #396 | 31 | 0.0212% |
| 1886 | #429 | 26 | 0.0180% |
| 1885 | #392 | 28 | 0.0210% |
| 1884 | #424 | 23 | 0.0178% |
| 1883 | #448 | 19 | 0.0169% |
| 1882 | #444 | 18 | 0.0167% |
| 1881 | #468 | 14 | 0.0152% |
| 1880 | #578 | 10 | 0.0110% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Una Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You have talent, charm and luck. You can succeed in art and in any educational occupation. You attract peculiar experiences. Your power and protection lies in spiritual side of life. You are an enthusiastic collector and you will be tenacious in holding onto the things you accumulate. You have a good memory and should make an effort to have a positive attitude. Emergencies may raise your intuitive abilities in order to resolve conflict or situation. You become very creative under the pressure, and have quite original ideas to make the best out of it.
You desire to inspire and lead, to control other's affairs. You are giving, courageous and bold, action oriented,energetic and strong willed. You want to make a difference in the world, and this attitude often attracts you to cultural interests, politics, social issues, and the cultivation of your creative talents.
✦ Una's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Una's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.