Illiana is a spelling of Iliana and Ileana, names used in Spanish and Romanian that most scholars trace to Helen, so they mean "torch" or "light"; some link them instead to Ilion, the Greek name of Troy. The doubled l is an American touch that also hints at the region where Illinois meets Indiana. Illiana ranked number 3548 in 2000, peaked at number 2131 in 2011 and has stayed in the mid-2000s since, ranking number 2467 in 2025 with 72 girls.