Ida

The name derives from the Germanic element id, meaning labor or work, carried across the English Channel by the Normans. Alfred, Lord Tennyson revived it in his 1847 narrative poem The Princess, which Gilbert and Sullivan later adapted into the comic opera Princess Ida. It crossed into American records as a practical staple, already firmly settled in the upper ranks when nationwide tallying began in 1880.

The name reads as someone who listens patiently to a long sales pitch, waits two seconds, and asks how much it costs per pound. Over two-thirds of living bearers belong to the Baby Boom and Silent generations, placing the average Ida at sixty-six years old. It carries no decorative vowels or trailing syllables, sounding less like a modern trend and more like a dependable wool blanket. With 209 newborn Idas recorded in 2025, a small number of modern nurseries now house an infant whose name suggests she should be chairing a rural zoning board.