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.
When Apolonia celebrates name day
Apolonia appears 1 time in the Polish name day calendar, 1 of them as a main name, the first on 9 February.
The days Polish calendars list this name on. By custom you celebrate one of them, usually the first after your birthday.
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 parents choose Apolonia
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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Masovian
+50%1 in 495 babies
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Pomeranian
+18%1 in 630 babies
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Łódź
+14%1 in 650 babies
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Subcarpathian
−32%1 in 1,096 babies
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Silesian
−29%1 in 1,039 babies
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Greater Poland
−24%1 in 974 babies
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Masovian+50% 716 born1 in 495 babies+50%
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Pomeranian+18% 234 born1 in 630 babies+18%
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Łódź+14% 195 born1 in 650 babies+14%
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Warmian-Masurian+11% 108 born1 in 665 babies+11%
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Lublin+5% 145 born1 in 708 babies+5%
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Lower Silesian±0% 213 born1 in 738 babies±0%
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Podlaskie−1% 88 born1 in 748 babies−1%
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Holy Cross−5% 71 born1 in 781 babies−5%
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Kuyavian-Pomeranian−9% 134 born1 in 816 babies−9%
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Lesser Poland−13% 266 born1 in 853 babies−13%
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West Pomeranian−15% 97 born1 in 870 babies−15%
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Lubusz−21% 53 born1 in 937 babies−21%
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Opole−23% 48 born1 in 960 babies−23%
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Greater Poland−24% 221 born1 in 974 babies−24%
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Silesian−29% 219 born1 in 1,039 babies−29%
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Subcarpathian−32% 110 born1 in 1,096 babies−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 Malwina6,445
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#134 Nina6,424
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#135 Apolonia6,256
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#136 Matylda6,220
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#137 Diana6,219