Mona is a

female Female (Venus symbol, symbol: ♀) is the sex of an organism that produces the large non-motile ovum, ova (egg cells), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the Sperm, male gamete during sexual reproduction. A female has larger gamet ...

, and sometimes

male Male (symbol: ♂) is the sex of an organism that produces the gamete (sex cell) known as sperm, which fuses with the larger female gamete, or ovum, in the process of fertilization. A male organism cannot reproduce sexually without access to ...

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a fa ...

and a

surname In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...

of multiple origins.

Given name

As a given name, Mona can have the following meanings and origins; In

northern Europe The northern region of Europe has several definitions. A restrictive definition may describe Northern Europe as being roughly north of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, which is about 54th parallel north, 54°N, or may be based on other g ...

, where the name is much more popular, Mona is interpreted as a diminutive of Monika or, rarely, of

Ramona ''Ramona'' is a 1884 American novel written by Helen Hunt Jackson. Set in Southern California after the Mexican–American War, it portrays the life of a mixed-race Scottish– Native American orphan girl, who suffers racial discrimination and ...

or Simona. It is sometimes associated with the title of

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, Drawing, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially res ...

's painting

Mona Lisa The ''Mona Lisa'' ( ; it, Gioconda or ; french: Joconde ) is a half-length portrait painting by Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. Considered an archetypal masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance, it has been described as "the best known ...

, although in that context the word Mona is actually a title rather than a name. The word mona also means ''cute'', ''monkey'' and ''doll'' in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

. In

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, Mona's

name day In Christianity, a name day is a tradition in many countries of Europe and the Americas, among other parts of Christendom. It consists of celebrating a day of the year that is associated with one's baptismal name, which is normatively that of a ...

is May 4. Mona was a relatively popular given name in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in the 1930s, 1950s and 1960s. The highest ranking it ever reached in the US was #230, in 1950.

Notable people

Mona Barthel Mona Barthel (born 11 July 1990) is a German tennis player. Barthel has won four singles and three doubles titles on the WTA Tour, one doubles title on the WTA Challenger Tour as well as five singles titles and one doubles title on the ITF Cir ...

(born 1990), German professional tennis player *

Mona Beaumont Mona Magdeleine Beaumont ( née Mona Magdeleine Marx; 1 January 1927 – 29 August 2007) was a French-born American painter and printmaker. She is known for abstract and in a cubist-style work, with subject matter in non-objective figure and stil ...

(1927–2007), French-born American painter, printmaker *

Mona Berglund Nilsson Mona Lisbeth Berglund Nilsson (born 1942) is a Swedish politician and former member of the Riksdag, the national legislature. A member of the Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by man ...

(born 1942), Swedish politician *

Mona Charen Mona Charen Parker (; born February 25, 1957) is a columnist, journalist, and political commentator in the United States. She has written three books: ''Useful Idiots: How Liberals Got it Wrong in the Cold War and Still Blame America First'' (200 ...

(born 1957), American columnist and political analyst *

Mona Eltahawy Mona Eltahawy ( ar, منى الطحاوى, ; born August 1, 1967) is a freelance Egyptian-American journalist and social commentator based in New York City. She has written essays and op-eds for publications worldwide on Egypt and the Islamic worl ...

, Egyptian-American activist *

Mona Fandey Nur Maznah binti Ismail (1 January 1956 – 2 November 2001), better known as Mona Fandey, was a Malaysian pop singer and murderer. She was executed on 2 November 2001 at the age of 45, after being convicted of the murder of Batu Talam state ...

, Malaysian singer and murderer *

Mona Ghoneim Mona Ghoneim ( ar, منى غنيم; b. 1955; first name also spelled Mauna) is an Egyptian composer of contemporary classical music and pianist. She is a member of that nation's third generation of such composers. Ghoneim studied piano with E. Pug ...

(born 1955), Egyptian composer *

Mona Grudt Mona Grudt (born 6 April 1971) is a Norwegian television presenter, model, editor and beauty queen who was crowned Miss Universe 1990. She is so far the only Norwegian to capture the Miss Universe 1990, Miss Universe title. Miss Universe She bec ...

(born 1971), former Miss Universe from Norway *

Mona Hanna-Attisha Mona Hanna-Attisha is a pediatrician, professor, and public health advocate whose research exposed the Flint water crisis. She is the author of the 2018 book ''What the Eyes Don't See'', which ''The New York Times'' named as one of the 100 most ...

(born 1976), pediatrician, public health advocate and Flint Water Crisis whistleblower *

Mona Hatoum Mona Hatoum ( ar, منى حاطوم; born 1952) is a British-Palestinian multimedia and installation artist who lives in London. Biography Mona Hatoum was born in 1952 in Beirut, Lebanon, to Palestinian parents. Although born in Lebanon, Hatoum ...

(born 1952), British artist of Palestinian origin * Mona Hofland (1929–2010), Norwegian actress *

Mona Johannesson Mona Johannesson (born September 18, 1987, in Huskvarna, Sweden) is a Swedish model. In Sweden, she is considered to be one of the top models in the country.

, Swedish model *

Mona Karim Mona Ferial Karim () is a Lebanese actress. Filmography Television *Noktit Hob. 2010 *Maitri Nada. 2010 *Wajaa El Rouh. 2014 *Sarah Sarah (born Sarai) is a biblical matriarch and prophetess, a major figure in Abrahamic religions. While d ...

, Lebanese actress *

Mona Keijzer Maria Cornelia Gezina "Mona" Keijzer (born 9 October 1968) is a Dutch politician and former civil servant. She served as State Secretary for Economic Affairs and Climate Policy alongside Dilan Yesilgöz-Zegerius from 26 October 2017 until 25 ...

(born 1968), Dutch politician *

Mona Mahmudnizhad Mona Mahmudnizhad ( fa, مونا محمود نژاد, September 10, 1965 – June 18, 1983) was an Iranian Baháʼí who, in 1983, together with nine other Baháʼí women, was sentenced to death and hanged in Shiraz, Iran on the grounds of bein ...

(1965–1983), Iranian teen executed for membership of the Bahá'í faith *

Mona Marshall Mona Marshall is an American voice actress, known for her work in a number of cartoons, anime shows, films and video games. Her major credits include ''South Park'', where she voices many of the female characters on the show; '' Fraggle Rock: The ...

(born 1947), American voice actress *Mona Faiz Montrage (

Mona 4Reall Mona Faiz Montrage (born 26 June 1992) better known by her stage name as Mona 4Reall or Hajia4Reall is a Ghanaian socialite, model, musician, and businesswoman. Early life and education Hajia4Reall was born and raised in Tamale, the northern ...

) (born 1993), Ghanaian socialite and musician *

Mona Rae Miracle Berniece Inez Gladys Miracle (née Baker; July 30, 1919 – May 25, 2014) was an American writer, known for her memoir ''My Sister Marilyn'' (1994) about her half-sister, actress Marilyn Monroe. Biography Berniece Baker was born in Venice, Calif ...

(born 1939), American author, daughter of writer

Berniece Baker Miracle Berniece Inez Gladys Miracle (née Baker; July 30, 1919 – May 25, 2014) was an American writer, known for her memoir ''My Sister Marilyn'' (1994) about her half-sister, actress Marilyn Monroe. Biography Berniece Baker was born in Venice, Calif ...

and niece of actress

Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...

Mona Rai Manoranjan Rai, or more commonly known as Mona Rai was the final chief minister of medieval Sylhet's Gour Kingdom. He is most known for being named after the highest hill in Sylhet city. Office His office began in 1260 with ascension of Raja Gou ...

, final minister of Gour (Sylhet) *

Mona Sahlin Mona Ingeborg Sahlin ( born 9 March 1957) is a Swedish politician who was leader of the opposition and leader of the Swedish Social Democratic Party from 2007 to 2011. Sahlin was a Member of Parliament, representing Stockholm County, from 198 ...

(born 1957), Swedish politician *

Mona Siddiqui Mona Siddiqui (born 3 May 1963) is a British academic. She is Professor of Islamic and Interreligious Studies at the University of Edinburgh, a member of the Commission on Scottish Devolution and a member of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics. ...

(born 1963), British Muslim academic * Mona L. Siegel, American scholar, author, and historian *

Mona Simpson Mona Simpson (née Jandali; June 14, 1957) is an American novelist. She has written six novels and studied English at the University of California, Berkeley and Languages and Literature at Columbia University. She won a Whiting Award for her fi ...

(born 1957), American novelist of Syrian and German descent *

Mona Tougaard Mona Tougaard (born 3 April 2002) is a Somali-Danish Model (person), model. Early life Tougaard was born in Aarhus, Denmark, to a half Turkish half Danish father and a Somali mother. She has two older siblings from her mother's previous marri ...

(born 2002), Danish fashion model *

Mona von Bismarck Mona von Bismarck (''née'' Strader; February 5, 1897 – July 10, 1983), also known as Mona Bismarck, was an American socialite, fashion icon, and philanthropist. Her five husbands included Harrison Williams (entrepreneur), Harrison Williams, amo ...

(1897–1983) American socialite and fashion icon *

Mona Zaki Mona Ali Mohamed Zaki ( ar, منى علي محمد زكي; born 18 November 1976) is an Egyptian actress. Biography Mona Zaki was born to her parents Ali Mohamed Zaki and Tahani on November 18, 1976. Until the age of 13, she lived in Kuwait. A ...

, Egyptian actress

Fictional characters

*Mona, a 2-year old green-skinned girl, main character in the YTV short series ''

Nanalan' ''Nanalan is a Canadian children's television series created by Jamie Shannon and Jason Hopley. It began in 1999 as a series of three-minute shorts and later ran for a season of full-length episodes spanning 21 minutes each. It chronicles the sma ...

'' *Mona, a character in the 1986 American fantasy drama film ''

The Boy Who Could Fly ''The Boy Who Could Fly'' is a 1986 American fantasy drama film written and directed by Nick Castle. It was produced by Lorimar Productions for 20th Century Fox, and released theatrically on August 15, 1986. The film stars Lucy Deakins as 14-y ...

'' *Mona, an alchemist with green skin from the ''

Shovel Knight ''Shovel Knight'' is a platform game, platform video game developed and published by Yacht Club Games. Development was crowdfunded and the game was released for Nintendo 3DS, Wii U, and Windows in June 2014. It was ported to OS X and Linux in Se ...

'' video games *Mona Aamons Monzano in Kurt Vonnegut's novel ''

Cat's Cradle Cat's cradle is a game involving the creation of various string figures between the fingers, either individually or by passing a loop of string back and forth between two or more players. The true origin of the name is debated, though the fi ...

'' *Mona Bergeron, the main character in the 1985 French film ''

Vagabond Vagrancy is the condition of homelessness without regular employment or income. Vagrants (also known as bums, vagabonds, rogues, tramps or drifters) usually live in poverty and support themselves by begging, scavenging, petty theft, temporar ...

(Sans Toit ni Loi)'' *Mona Dearly, played by Bette Midler in the 2000 film ''

Drowning Mona ''Drowning Mona'' is a 2000 American crime comedy film starring Danny DeVito as Wyatt Rash, a local police chief from Verplanck, New York, who investigates the mysterious death of Mona Dearly (Bette Midler), a spiteful, hard-drinking, loud-mouth ...

'' *Mona Lott, a recurrent character in the 1929–1949 BBC Radio series ''

It's That Man Again ''It's That Man Again'' (commonly contracted to ''ITMA'') was a BBC radio comedy programme which ran for twelve series from 1939 to 1949. The shows featured Tommy Handley in the central role, a fast-talking figure, around whom the other cha ...

'' *

Mona Mayfair ''Lives of the Mayfair Witches'' is a trilogy of supernatural horror/fantasy novels by American novelist Anne Rice. It centers on a family of witches whose fortunes have been guided for generations by a spirit named Lasher. The series began in ...

in several novels by Anne Rice *

Mona McCluskey Mona McCluskey (also known as ''Meet Mona McCluskey'') is an American sitcom that aired on NBC as part of its 1965-66 schedule. The series stars Juliet Prowse in the title role, and aired from September 16, 1965 to April 14, 1966. Synopsis Prowse ...

, main character in television sitcom of the same name *Mona Megistus (), an astrologist and playable character from the video game

Genshin Impact ''Genshin Impact'' is an action role-playing game developed and published by miHoYo. It was released for Android (operating system), Android, iOS, PlayStation 4, and Windows in 2020, on PlayStation 5 in 2021, and is set for release on Nintendo ...

*Mona Melendy in

Elizabeth Enright Elizabeth Wright Enright Gillham (September 17, 1907 – June 8, 1968) was an American writer of children's books, an illustrator, writer of short stories for adults, literary critic and teacher of creative writing. Perhaps best known as the New ...

's children's book series "The Melendy Quartet" *Mona Mullins, a character in the TV sitcoms ''

Top of the Heap ''Top of the Heap'' is an American sitcom that ran for seven episodes on Fox from April 7 until May 19, 1991, the most successful of three attempted spin-offs of '' Married... with Children'' (the other two being '' Radio Free Trumaine'' and '' ...

'' and ''

Vinnie & Bobby ''Vinnie & Bobby'' is an American television sitcom that aired on Fox from May 30 to September 5, 1992. The series is a spin-off of the 1991 sitcom '' Top of the Heap'', which was itself a spin-off of '' Married... with Children''. Series star ...

'' *

Mona Parker ''Mona the Vampire'' is an animated children's television series that is based on a children's book of the same name written and illustrated by Sonia Holleyman, as well as a series of novels illustrated by Holleyman and written by Hiawyn Oram. ...

, the main character in the animated television series ''

Mona the Vampire ''Mona the Vampire'' is an animated children's television series that is based on a children's book of the same name written and illustrated by Sonia Holleyman, as well as a series of novels illustrated by Holleyman and written by Hiawyn Oram. ...

'' and the book of the same name *Mona Ramsey in the ''

Tales of the City ''Tales of the City'' is a series of nine novels written by American author Armistead Maupin from 1978 to 2014, depicting the life of a group of friends in San Francisco, many of whom are LGBT. The stories from ''Tales'' were originally serial ...

'' books by

Armistead Maupin Armistead Jones Maupin, Jr. ( ) (born May 13, 1944) is an American writer notable for ''Tales of the City'', a series of novels set in San Francisco. Early life Maupin was born in Washington, D.C., to Diana Jane (Barton) and Armistead Jones Maup ...

*Mona Robinson, mother of Angela Bower in the television series '' Who's the Boss?'' *Mona Rowan, a character in the 1951 novel ''

Camilla Dickinson ''Camilla Dickinson'' is a 1951 novel by Madeleine L'Engle about the first romance of two teenagers from dysfunctional families in New York City. In 1965, it was republished in slightly different form under the title ''Camilla''. Plot summary Fif ...

'' *

Mona Sax Mona Sax is a fictional Character (arts), character in the neo-noir media franchise ''Max Payne (series), Max Payne'', where she represents the femme fatale archetype. Mona is a mysterious contract killer in a dangerous relationship with the seri ...

in the Max Payne franchise * Mona Simpson (''The Simpsons''),

Homer Simpson Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the American animated sitcom ''The Simpsons''. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared, along with the rest of his family, in ''The Tracey Ullman Show'' short "G ...

's estranged mother * Mona Sterling Pike, Roger Sterling's first wife on ''

Mad Men ''Mad Men'' is an American period drama television series created by Matthew Weiner and produced by Lionsgate Television. It ran on the cable network AMC from July 19, 2007, to May 17, 2015, lasting for seven seasons and 92 episodes. Its fict ...

'' *Mona Stevens in the novel '' Landfall: A Channel Story'' by

Nevil Shute Nevil Shute Norway (17 January 189912 January 1960) was an English novelist and aeronautical engineer who spent his later years in Australia. He used his full name in his engineering career and Nevil Shute as his pen name, in order to protect h ...

and its film adaptation *Mona Wilder, a shape-shifter in the TV adaptation of ''

Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency ''Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency'' is a humorous detective novel by English writer Douglas Adams, published in 1987. It is described by the author on its cover as a "thumping good detective-ghost-horror-who dunnit-time travel-romantic- ...

'' *

Mona Vanderwaal Mona Vanderwaal is a fictional character in the ''Pretty Little Liars'' book series, its television adaptation, and the spin-off TV series '' Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists''. In the TV shows, she is portrayed by Janel Parrish. Introduc ...

in the ''Pretty Little Liars'' novel series *Mona, Ross Geller's girlfriend in the television series ''

Friends ''Friends'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting ten seasons. With an ensemble cast starring Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa ...

'', played by

Bonnie Somerville Bonnie Somerville (born February 24, 1974) is an American actress and singer. She has had roles in a number of movies and television series, most notably as Mona in ''Friends'', ''NYPD Blue'', ''Grosse Pointe'', '' The O.C.'', ''Cashmere Mafia ...

*Mona, a young prostitute in the novel ''

Mona Lisa Overdrive ''Mona Lisa Overdrive'' is a science fiction novel by American-Canadian writer William Gibson, published in 1988. It is the final novel of the cyberpunk Sprawl trilogy, following ''Neuromancer'' and ''Count Zero'', taking place eight years after ...

'' by

William Gibson William Ford Gibson (born March 17, 1948) is an American-Canadian speculative fiction writer and essayist widely credited with pioneering the science fiction subgenre known as ''cyberpunk''. Beginning his writing career in the late 1970s, his ...

*Mona, a character in the ''

WarioWare is a video game series, a Spin-off (media), spin-off of the ''Mario (franchise), Mario'' franchise. It comprises various video games created by Nintendo, starring the character Wario. The series began with ''Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3'', th ...

'' series of video games

Nickname

*Maria

(born 1968), Dutch politician *Monica

Mona Mårtenson Monica Ingeborg Elisabeth "Mona" Mårtenson (4 May 1902 – 8 July 1956) was a Swedish film actress. She appeared in 28 films between 1923 and 1949. She was born and died in Stockholm, Sweden. Early career Mona grew up in Helsingborg and ...

(1902–1956), Swedish film actress *Simeona

Mona Pasquil Mona Pasquil Rogers (born Simeona Fortunata Pasquil; April 3, 1962) is an American politician who served as the 47th lieutenant governor of California from November 4, 2009 to April 27, 2010. Upon taking office, Pasquil Rogers became the first wom ...

(born 1962), American politician

Surname

As a surname, Mona can have two origins. In

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

and

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

, it is a feminine form of ''Moni'' which is a short form of ''Simone'', the Italian form of

Simon Simon may refer to: People * Simon (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Simon * Simon (surname), including a list of people with the surname Simon * Eugène Simon, French naturalist and the genus ...

. In

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

countries, it is derived from the given name ''Muna'', meaning "unreachable wishes". It is the plural form of the word Munia (مـُـنيه). Notable people with the surname include: *

Domenico Mona Domenico Mona (also called ''Moni'', ''Monna'', or ''Monio'') (1550–1602) was an Italian painter of the late-Renaissance period, born in Ferrara. Biography His biographer Cesare Cittadella (1782) describes a stormy early manhood, wherein Mona, ...

(1550–1602), Italian late-Renaissance painter *

István Móna István Móna (17 September 1940 – 28 July 2010) was a Hungarian modern pentathlete and Olympic champion. He was born in Nyíregyháza. Olympics Móna won a gold medal at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no ...

(1940–2010), Hungarian modern pentathlete and Olympic champion * Khwezi Mona (born 1992), South African rugby union player

References

{{given name, type=both Feminine given names Arabic feminine given names German feminine given names Lists of people by nickname

Given name

Notable people

Fictional characters

Nickname

Surname

See also

References