Browse Names - Behind the Name

Iahmesu m & f Ancient Egyptian (Hypothetical)
Reconstructed Egyptian form of Ahmose.

Idowu m & f Yoruba
Means "born after twins" in Yoruba.

Ife f & m Yoruba
From Yoruba ìfẹ́ meaning "love".

Ifiok m & f Ibibio
Means "wisdom" in Ibibio.

Ige f & m Yoruba
Means "born feet first" in Yoruba.

Ihab m & f Arabic
Means "gift" in Arabic.

Ihsan m & f Arabic
Means "charity" in Arabic.

Ikraam f & m Arabic
Alternate transcription of Arabic إكرام (see Ikram).

Ikram f & m Arabic
Means "honour" in Arabic, from the root كرم (karuma) meaning "to be generous".

Ilham m & f Arabic, Indonesian, Uyghur
Means "inspiration" in Arabic.

İlkay f & m Turkish
Means "new moon" in Turkish, derived from ilk "first" and ay "moon".

Iman f & m Arabic, Persian, Indonesian
Means "faith", derived from Arabic أمن (amuna) meaning "to be faithful". It is typically feminine in Arabic and typically masculine in Persian.

Imani f & m Swahili, African American
Means "faith" in Swahili, ultimately of Arabic origin.

Ime 1 m & f Ibibio
Means "patience" in Ibibio.

Ime 2 m & f Frisian
Originally a short form of names beginning with the Old German element irmin meaning "whole, great".

Inari f & m Japanese Mythology
Means "carrying rice" in Japanese, from 稲 (ina) meaning "rice" and 荷 (ri) meaning "carry". This is the name of a Japanese divinity associated with prosperity, rice and foxes, represented as both female and male.

Inayat m & f Urdu
From Arabic عناية (inayah) meaning "care, concern".

Inderjeet m & f Indian (Sikh)
Alternate transcription of Gurmukhi ਇੰਦਰਜੀਤ (see Inderjit).

Inderjit m & f Indian (Sikh)
Variant of Indrajit used by Sikhs.

Inderpal m & f Indian (Sikh)
Means "protector of Indra" from the name of the god Indra combined with Sanskrit पाल (pala) meaning "protector".

Indiana f & m English
From the name of the American state, which means "land of the Indians". This is the name of the hero in the Indiana Jones series of movies, starring Harrison Ford.

Indigo f & m English (Modern)
From the English word indigo for the purplish-blue dye or the colour. It is ultimately derived from Greek Ἰνδικόν (Indikon) meaning "Indic, from India".

Inge f & m Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, German, Dutch, Estonian
Short form of Scandinavian and German names beginning with the element ing, which refers to the Germanic god Ing. In Sweden and Norway this is primarily a masculine name, elsewhere it is usually feminine.

Iniobong m & f Ibibio
Means "God's time" in Ibibio.

Inna f & m Russian, Ukrainian, History (Ecclesiastical)
Meaning unknown. This was the name of an early Scythian saint and martyr, a male, supposedly a disciple of Saint Andrew.

Inyene m & f Ibibio
Means "wealth" in Ibibio.

Iovita m & f Ancient Roman
Latin masculine and feminine form of Jovita.

Iqaluk m & f Inuit
Means "fish" in Inuktitut.

Irénée m & f French
French form of Irenaeus, also occasionally a feminine form.

Iseul f & m Korean
Means "dew" in Korean.

Isha f & m Hindi, Marathi, Hinduism
Means "master, lord" in Sanskrit. This is a transcription of both the feminine form ईशा and the masculine form ईश (an epithet of the Hindu god Shiva). It is also the name of one of the Upanishads, which are parts of Hindu scripture.

Isi m & f Choctaw
Means "deer" in Choctaw.

Islay f & m Scottish
From the name of the island of Islay, which lies off of the west coast of Scotland.

'Ismat m & f Arabic
Derived from Arabic عصم ('Isma) meaning "safeguarding".

Ismat f & m Urdu, Bengali, Arabic
Alternate transcription of Arabic عصمة (see 'Ismat), as well as the usual Urdu and Bengali transcription (typically feminine).

Issy m & f English
Diminutive of Isidore, Isabella and other names beginning with Is.

Itai 2 m & f Shona
From Shona ita meaning "do, act, perform".

I'timad f & m Arabic
Means "reliance" in Arabic.

Itoro m & f Ibibio
Means "praise, glory" in Ibibio.

Itumeleng m & f Tswana
Means "be happy" in Tswana, from itumela meaning "to be happy".

Ivory m & f African American
From the English word for the hard, creamy-white substance that comes from elephant tusks and was formerly used to produce piano keys.

Izar f & m Basque
Means "star" in Basque.

Izzy m & f English
Diminutive of Isidore, Isabel, Israel and other names beginning with a similar sound.

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