Ilja
Ilja is a male given name: 97% of people named Ilja are men, and it is recorded as male in 9 of the 11 countries covered.
Ilja · Iļja · Iľja
- Verdict
- Male
- Male / female split
- 97% male / 3% female
- Confidence
- High (64 or more weighted country observations)
- Most common in
- Bulgaria, Russia, Belarus
- Also spelled
- Iļja, Iľja
- Data
- nam_dict (GFDL) + US SSA
- Updated
- 2026-09-11
How to address Ilja
When you do not know their gender for certain, the full name with no title is the safe choice: "Dear Ilja," in English, "Guten Tag Ilja," in German. Ilja is a male given name: about 97% of people named Ilja are men. A quick look at a profile confirms it for certain.
Ready-made greetings in six languages
English
Dear Ilja,
German
Guten Tag Ilja,
French
Bonjour Ilja,
Spanish
Estimado/a Ilja:
Chinese
Ilja您好：
Japanese
Ilja様
English
Hi Ilja,
German
Hi Ilja,
French
Salut Ilja,
Spanish
Hola Ilja,
Chinese
Ilja你好：
Japanese
Iljaさん
This is a statistical estimate, not a statement about the gender, identity or correct form of address of any particular person.
Country breakdown
| Country | How common | Usually | Male share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bulgaria | common | man's name | 98% |
| Russia | common | man's name | 98% |
| Belarus | uncommon | man's name | 98% |
| Latvia | uncommon | man's name | 98% |
| Ukraine | uncommon | man's name | 98% |
| Estonia | rare | man's name | 98% |
| Czech Republic | rare | man's name | 98% |
| Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan | rare | man's name | 98% |
| Netherlands | rare | woman's name | 25% |
| Slovakia | rare | man's name | 98% |
| Belgium | rare | woman's name | 25% |
Frequently asked questions
Is Ilja a male or female name?
Ilja is a male given name: 97% of people named Ilja are men, and it is recorded as male in 9 of the 11 countries covered.
How do I address Ilja in an email?
When you do not know their gender for certain, the full name with no title is the safe choice: "Dear Ilja," in English, "Guten Tag Ilja," in German. Ilja is a male given name: about 97% of people named Ilja are men. A quick look at a profile confirms it for certain.
Is Ilja a unisex name?
Ilja is not a unisex name: 97% of people named Ilja are men. Ilja leans strongly male overall.
Related names
Sources
Gender by country: nam_dict, the c't first-names dictionary by Joerg Michael, roughly 44,000 names across 55 countries, licensed GFDL. US frequencies: United States Social Security Administration baby-name data, public domain. Method: how we classify names. Full dataset: data & licences. Data built 2026-09-11.
DearWho, "Is Ilja a male or female name?", https://dearwho.vercel.app/name/ilja (accessed 2026-09-11). Data: nam_dict (J. Michael, GFDL) and US SSA, built 2026-09-11.
BibTeX
@misc{dearwho_ilja,
title = {Is Ilja a male or female name?},
author = {{DearWho}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://dearwho.vercel.app/name/ilja},
note = {Data: nam_dict (GFDL), US SSA public domain}
}