Comments for the name Ida

The pronunciation of this name is ee-dah in all languages except English.

Ida may originally mean "work", but that´s not the reason why it's so popular in Scandinavia, especially Sweden. Swedes tends to like giving their girls simple, delicate and feminine names but yet with some sparkle. They are often very short, like "Ida", to be concrete and simplisive. It's because we like the sophistication of the simplisivity, like a small, natural flower that may not be so voluptous, but means the strongest sense of love for it´s beholder, when you discover it's beauty after the long, cold winter. Sort of. :) Ida therefore means like "naturally sweet, true and special person" sort of. Also it's a name of one of the characters in folk writer Astrid Lindgrens stories.

Another possible theory for the origin of this name is connected to the namedays listed here. In the ancient Roman calendar the Idae marked the 15th or the 13th day of every month. So every Ida can choose her own name day or celebrate every month. I personally always forget to do it.

In Bulgarian there is a verb that sounds the same way and means "I am coming" and in Spanish there is a noun meaning "going, departure".

Ida Brown Wright was a good friend of the authoress Laura Ingalls Wilder. The adopted daughter of a reverend and his wife, Laura and Ida were friends when they lived in De Smet, South Dakota. Ida appears as a character in the books The Long Winter, Little Town on the Prairie, and These Happy Golden Years.

Pronounced EE-dah in Germany. [noted -ed]

Listen to the German pronunciation of Ida here:
http://www.nordicnames.de/Aussprache.html.

Ida is the name of the 14-year-old girl and main character in Avi's award-winning children's book The Secret School. The book is an inspiring story of a headstrong girl determined to control her own destiny.

In Spanish, it is most commonly said ee-th-a. I know because it was my great-grandmother's name.

Sorry to say, but your great-grandmother mispronounced her name. In Spanish Ida is prnounced EE-dah, and only EE-dah.

Ida B was the main character in the book, Ida B.

Ida is the name of a novel by Gertrude Stein, and a character in it.

Ida Lupino was a movie star in the 20's and 30's.

The name was also borne by Ida B. Wells, an advocate of civil rights and women's rights who gained particular renown for her staunch opposition to lynching.

Famous bearers:
Indian-Czech singer Ida Bittová-Kelarová
Czech photographer Ida Saudková
Polish actress Ida Kaminska
Slovak actress Ida Rapaičová
Czech actress Ida Sovová

Also used in the same form in Poland.

It's old-fashioned, but it's not old-fashioned in some ugly, awkward, or geeky way. The name is simple and cute enough, kind of like Ada. I'm just not quite sure how good this name is for actual adults. On the other hand, it's pronounced a bit like Aida, and I don't find that name too youthful. Still, this name makes me think of little girls from a couple of centuries back.

Ida is a character in the books/movies about Emil of the Maple Hills (Swedish: Emil I Lönneberga) written by the Swedish author Astrid Lindgren.

It also means East in Estonian.

In Italy Ida was popular in the second half of the 19th century: it was the 6th most popular name in Rome in 1876. Today it is quite unfashionable.

The Italian pronunciation is EE-dah. [noted -ed]

Ida Maria is a Norwegian rock singer.

From Edward Gorey's sick and twisted poem, The Gashlycrumb Tinies: "I is for Ida who drowned in a lake".

Ida is also the name of one of the girls from Katy Towell's Childrin R Skary website.

Ida is a Hindu goddess of the earth, abundant food, and nourishment. She is also the granter of any blessings evoked through her.

Also a feminine name in Croatia. [noted -ed]

There is an asteroid, in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, called Ida. I don't know why it was named Ida, but I believe it is one of the largest asteroids known. In pictures Ida looks like a huge potato :) This is funny to me, since potatoes are commonly grown in Idaho, a name which contains the name Ida. So now, whenever I hear the name Ida, I think of potatoes (and asteroids). I think it is a kind of cute name though.

A possible Finnish variant/pronunciation/nickname is Iita, but I suppose it's considered old-fashioned nowadays.

I believe there is also a comet or meteor bearing the same name.

Idaho is my first and quick impression of this name. Better on a potato than on a person.

Ida is a really old-fashioned name. It sounds very plain. Ada is a much better alternative.

"Little Ida's Flowers" is a fairytale by Hans Christian Andersen who also wrote "The Little Mermaid" and "Thumbleina."

Ida could work as a middle name.

Ida Straus was a first-class passenger on the RMS Titanic. She traveled with her husband Isidor, who was a businessman, and the two loved each other very much. When the Titanic started sinking, Ida refused to board the lifeboats and stayed with her husband on the ship. The couple died together.

Not introduced by the Normans, but before the conquest Ida was a man's name in England. In fact an Ida was king of Bernicia.

In compound names it occurs in Idaburh, Idaberga, Idhild (f.) and Idesbeald, Idgerius (Idgar) and Idwine. The root survives in Icelandic iðja (work, activity), OE idig, idge, busy.

Idisburh however may represent OE ides, OS idis, OHG itis woman, matron (in OE a poetic word applied to women of mythic or legendary stature).

I really like this name, but I do not like the English pronunciation of Eye-duh. When it is pronounced Ee-duh, it is really pretty. Like some other poster said, it is sweet and simple but so pretty and beautiful.

Much prefer the English pronunciation "IE-duh" to "EE-dah". "EE-dah" is the ubiquitous pronunciation across Europe, whereas "IE-duh" is unique to English-speakers and has lots of quaint British charm.