It was named after Ionia, the region in Anatolia from which many Greeks migrated in the 1920s as a part of the population exchange between Greece and Turkey.

[3] It is served by three Line 1 metro stations: Nea Ionia, Pefkakia and Perissos.

[4] The modern settlement was built after the Greco-Turkish War (1919-22) and the subsequent population exchange between Greece and Turkey in 1923.

Nea Ionia gradually increased its population and expanded into a large area.

The suburb is composed of 13 neighborhoods: Nea Ionia (Center), Perissos, Inepoli, Pefkakia, Saframpoli, Neapoli, Eleftheroupoli, Alsoupoli, Kalogreza, Lazarou, Anthrakorihia, Irini, Omorfoklissia and Palaiologou.