Ilja
An eastern Slavic form of a Hebrew name meaning "my god is Yahweh". Barely used in Poland: only around 140 people carry it, nearly all of them men, and most Poles have never met one.
Ilja Pronunciation
Ilja is pronounced EEL-yah (/ˈilja/).
What Ilja means
Where Ilja comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Ilja begins in Hebrew, in the name Eliyahu, which reads as "my God is Yahweh." Behind it stands the prophet Elijah of the Books of Kings. Slavic speakers reshaped Eliyahu into Ilya, and Ilja is the spelling a Polish reader meets.
The Russian association runs through Ilya Muromets, the bogatyr of the old byliny. He sat paralysed for thirty-three years, then rose to guard Kyiv and the roads. The name kept that reputation for slow, immense strength.
Elijah's feast, called Ilyin den in the Russian calendar, falls on 2 August. Farmers once read the day for the first storms of a turning summer.
On a Polish school register, Ilja settles among the other I names, short and unmistakable. It stays close to its root. The word says one thing plainly: my God is Yahweh.
How many people are named Ilja
1 in 151391 men in Poland is named Ilja. 143 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #2739 among male names.
Ilja's popularity over time
Fewer than 2 boys were given the name in 2025. It has been climbing since 2025.
Where Ilja is most popular
Ilja is most popular in West Pomeranian, 753% above the national average (2 boys born 2019–2025), followed by Lower Silesian (+358%) and Masovian (+103%).
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West Pomeranian2 boys born+753%
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Lower Silesian2 boys born+358%
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Masovian2 boys born+103%
Ilja as a middle name
Ilja is a first name for 143 men in Poland and a middle name for another 6, a 96/4 split. In the men's middle-name ranking it sits 4270th, between Idriss (6) and Indika (6).
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#4268 Hũu6
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#4269 Idriss6
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#4270 Ilja6
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#4271 Indika6
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#4272 Isak6