Apolonia
After years near the margins it's on a clear comeback, with more girls given it last year than in seasons past. From Greek, the name means "belonging to Apollo", and meeting an Apolonia still feels memorable.
Apolonia Pronunciation
Apolonia is pronounced ah-po-LO-nyah (/apɔˈlɔɲa/).
What Apolonia means
Where Apolonia comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Apolonia comes from Greek and means belonging to Apollo, the old god of light and healing. Its masculine variant is Apoloniusz. Both names point back to the same divine figure.
The name found a Christian bearer in Saint Apollonia of Alexandria, martyred around the year 249. Her torturers broke her teeth, and so she became the patron of dentists and of people fighting a toothache. In the Polish calendar her name-day falls on 9 February.
There is a famous modern Apolonia too. The silent-film star Pola Negri was born Apolonia Chałupiec in Lipno, and she trimmed the long name down to Pola for the screen. That short form still does the same work today. On a school register the full Apolonia can look formal, almost solemn, while Pola sounds like a friend. Underneath either one sits the same meaning: należąca do Apolla, belonging to Apollo.
How many people are named Apolonia
1 in 2703 women in Poland is named Apolonia. 8,341 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #391 among female names.
Apolonia's popularity over time
468 girls were given the name in 2025, ranking #115 among newborns. It has been climbing since 2000.
Where Apolonia is most popular
Apolonia is most popular in Masovian, 50% above the national average (716 girls born 2019–2025), followed by Pomeranian (+18%) and Łódź (+14%). It is least common in Subcarpathian and Silesian, 32% and 29% below average respectively.
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Masovian716 girls born+50%
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Pomeranian234 girls born+18%
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Łódź195 girls born+14%
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Warmian-Masurian108 girls born+11%
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Lublin145 girls born+5%
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Lower Silesian213 girls born0%
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Podlaskie88 girls born−1%
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Świętokrzyskie71 girls born−5%
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Kuyavian-Pomeranian134 girls born−9%
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Lesser Poland266 girls born−13%
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West Pomeranian97 girls born−15%
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Lubusz53 girls born−21%
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Opole48 girls born−23%
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Greater Poland221 girls born−24%
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Silesian219 girls born−29%
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Subcarpathian110 girls born−32%
Apolonia as a middle name
Apolonia is a first name for 8,341 women in Poland and a middle name for another 6,256, a 57/43 split — almost evenly. In the women's middle-name ranking it sits 135th, between Nina (6,424) and Matylda (6,220).
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133
6,445Malwina
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134
6,424Nina
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1356,256Apolonia
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136
6,220Matylda
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137
6,219Diana
When Apolonia celebrates name day
Apolonia appears 1 time in the Polish name day calendar. The main date is 9 February.