IAGOmWelsh, Galician, PortugueseWelsh and Galician form of
JACOB. This was the name of two early Welsh kings of Gwynedd. It is also the name of the villain in Shakespeare's tragedy 'Othello' (1603).
IAHmEgyptian MythologyMeans "moon" in Egyptian. In Egyptian mythology this was the name of a god of the moon, later identified with
Thoth.
IARAfNative American, TupiFrom Tupi
y "water" and
îara "lady, mistress". In Brazilian legend this is the name of a beautiful river nymph who would lure men into the water. She may have been based upon earlier Tupi legends.
IARFHLAITHmIrishComposed of the Irish elements
ior, of unknown meaning, and
flaith "lord". Saint Iarfhlaith was a 6th-century bishop from Galway, Ireland.
ICARUSmGreek Mythology (Latinized)From the Greek
Ικαρος (Ikaros), of unknown meaning. In Greek myth Icarus was the son of
Daedalus, locked with his father inside the Labyrinth by
Minos. They escaped from the maze using wings devised from wax, but Icarus flew too close to the sun and the wax melted, plunging him to his death.
ICHABODmBiblicalMeans "no glory" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament he is the grandson of
Eli and the son of
Phinehas. This name was also used by Washington Irving for Ichabod Crane, the main character in his short story 'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow' (1820).
ICHIROUmJapaneseFrom Japanese
一 (ichi) meaning "one" and
郎 (rou) meaning "son". This was traditionally a name given to the first son. Other combinations of kanji characters are also possible.
IDAfEnglish, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Hungarian, Slovene, Croatian, Ancient GermanicDerived from the Germanic element
id meaning "work, labour". The Normans brought this name to England, though it eventually died out there in the Middle Ages. It was strongly revived in the 19th century, in part due to the heroine in Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem 'The Princess' (1847), which was later adapted into the play 'Princess Ida' (1884) by Gilbert and Sullivan.
... [more] ÍDEfIrishPossibly derived from Old Irish
ítu "thirst". This was the name of a 6th-century Irish saint.
IDONEAfEnglish (Archaic)Medieval English name, probably a Latinized form of
IÐUNN. The spelling may have been influenced by Latin
idonea "suitable". It was common in England from the 12th century.
IDOYAfSpanishFrom the Spanish place name
Idoia, possibly meaning "pond" in Basque, an important place of worship of the Virgin
Mary.
IDRILfLiteratureMeans "sparkle brilliance" in Sindarin. In the 'Silmarillion' (1977) by J. R. R. Tolkien, Idril was the daughter of Turgon, the king of Gondolin. She escaped the destruction of that place with her husband
Tuor and sailed with him into the west.
IDRIS (1)mArabicPossibly means "interpreter" in Arabic. In the Qur'an this is the name of an ancient prophet. He is traditionally equated with the Hebrew prophet
Enoch.
IDRIS (2)mWelshMeans "ardent lord" from Welsh
udd "lord, prince" combined with
ris "ardent, enthusiastic, impulsive".
IDWALmWelshMeans "lord of the wall", derived from Welsh
udd "lord, prince" combined with
gwal "wall, rampart".
IEVAfLithuanian, LatvianLithuanian and Latvian form of
EVE. This is also the Lithuanian and Latvian word for a type of cherry tree (species Prunus padus).
IGNATIUSmLate RomanFrom the Roman family name
Egnatius, meaning unknown, of Etruscan origin. The spelling was later altered to resemble Latin
ignis "fire". This was the name of several saints, including the third bishop of Antioch who was thrown to wild beasts by Emperor Trajan, and by Saint Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556), founder of the Jesuits, whose real birth name was in fact Íñigo.
IGORm & fRussian, Polish, Slovene, Croatian, Serbian, Macedonian, Italian, PortugueseRussian form of
Yngvarr (see
INGVAR). The Varangians brought it to Russia in the 10th century. It was borne by two grand princes of Kiev. Famous bearers include Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971), a Russian composer whose most famous work is 'The Rite of Spring', and Igor Sikorsky (1889-1972), the Russian-American designer of the first successful helicopter.
IGRAINEfArthurian RomanceMeaning unknown, from
Igerna, the Latinized form of Welsh
Eigyr. In Arthurian legend she is the mother of King
Arthur by Uther Pendragon and the mother of
Morgan le Fay by Gorlois. The Welsh form
Eigyr or
Eigr was rendered into Latin as
Igerna by the 12th-century chronicler Geoffrey of Monmouth.
IKEmEnglishDiminutive of
ISAAC. This was the nickname of the American president Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890-1969), based on the initial sound of his surname.
ILDEFONSOmSpanishSpanish form of the Visigothic name
Hildefons, which meant "battle ready", derived from the Germanic elements
hild "battle" and
funs "ready". This was the name of a 7th-century saint, an archbishop of Toledo.
ILEANAfRomanian, Spanish, ItalianPossibly a Romanian variant of
ELENA. In Romanian folklore this is the name of a princess kidnapped by monsters and rescued by a heroic knight.
İLHANmTurkishFrom the Mongolian title
il-Khan meaning "subordinate
Khan", which was first adopted by Genghis Khan's grandson Hulagu, who ruled a kingdom called the Ilkhanate that stretched from modern Iran to eastern Turkey.
İLKAYf & mTurkishMeans "new moon" in Turkish, derived from
ilk "first" and
ay "moon".
İLKERmTurkishMeans "first man" in Turkish, derived from
ilk "first" and
er "man, brave".
ILLTYDmWelshMeans "multitude of land" from Welsh
il "multitude" and
tud "land, people". This was the name of a 6th-century Welsh saint who founded the abbey of Llanilltud in Glamorgan.
ILMARINENmFinnish MythologyDerived from Finnish
ilma "air". Ilmarinen is an immortal smith in Finnish mythology, the creator of the sky and the magic mill known as the Sampo. He is one of the main characters in the Finnish epic the 'Kalevala'.
IL-SEONGmKoreanFrom Sino-Korean
日 (il) meaning "sun, day" and
成 (seong) meaning "completed, finished, succeeded". Other hanja character combinations are possible. A notable bearer was Kim Il-sung (1912-1994), the first leader of North Korea.
IME (2)m & fFrisianShort form of names beginning with the Germanic element
ermen meaning "whole, universal".
IMHOTEPmAncient EgyptianMeans "he comes in peace" in Egyptian. This was the name of the architect, priest, physician and chief minister to the pharaoh Djoser. Imhotep apparently designed the step pyramid at Saqqara, near Memphis.
IMOGENfEnglish (British)The name of a princess in the play 'Cymbeline' (1609) by Shakespeare. He based her on a legendary character named
Innogen, but the name was printed incorrectly and never corrected. The name
Innogen is probably derived from Gaelic
inghean meaning "maiden".
IMREmHungarianHungarian form of
EMMERICH. This was the name of an 11th-century Hungarian saint, the son of Saint Istvan. He is also known as Emeric.
INANNAfSumerian MythologyPossibly derived from Sumerian
nin-an-a(k) meaning "lady of the heavens", from
𒊩𒌆 (nin) meaning "lady" and the genitive form of
𒀭 (an) meaning "heaven, sky". Inanna was the Sumerian goddess of love, fertility and war. She descended into the underworld where the ruler of that place, her sister Ereshkigal, had her killed. The god
Enki interceded, and Inanna was allowed to leave the underworld as long as her husband
Dumuzi took her place.
... [more] INDIAfEnglishFrom the name of the country, which is itself derived from the name of the Indus River. The river's name is ultimately from Sanskrit
सिन्धु (Sindhu) meaning "body of trembling water, river".
INDIANAf & mEnglishFrom 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.
INDIGOf & mEnglish (Rare)From the English word
indigo for the purplish-blue dye or the colour. It is ultimately derived from Greek
Ινδικον (Indikon) "Indic, from India".
INDRAmHinduism, Indian, Hindi, NepaliMeans "possessing drops of rain" from Sanskrit
इन्दु (indu) meaning "a drop" and
र (ra) meaning "acquiring, possessing". Indra is the name of the ancient Hindu warrior god of the sky and rain. He is the chief god in the Hindu text the Rigveda.
INDRAJITmHinduism, Bengali, Indian, HindiMeans "conqueror of Indra" from the name of the god
INDRA combined with Sanskrit
जिति (jiti) meaning "victory, conquering". In Hindu legend this is another name of Meghanada, the son of Ravana, the king of Sri Lanka. He was given this name by
Brahma after he defeated
Indra.
INDUfIndian, HindiMeans "bright drop" in Sanskrit. This is a name for the moon.
INDYmPopular CultureDiminutive of
INDIANA. This is the nickname of the hero of the 'Indiana Jones' movies, starring Harrison Ford.
INGmGermanic MythologyFrom the Germanic *
Ingwaz, possibly meaning "ancestor". This was the name of an obscure old Germanic fertility god who was considered the ancestor of the tribe the Ingaevones. It is possible he was an earlier incarnation of the god
Freyr.
INGEf & mDanish, Norwegian, Swedish, German, DutchShort 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.
INGEMARmSwedishFrom the Old Norse name
Ingimárr, derived from the name of the Germanic god
ING combined with
mærr "famous".
INGMARmSwedishVariant of
INGEMAR. This name was borne by the Swedish film director Ingmar Bergman (1918-2007).
INGRIDfSwedish, Norwegian, Danish, GermanFrom the Old Norse name
Ingríðr meaning "Ing is beautiful", derived from the name of the Germanic god
ING combined with
fríðr "beautiful". A famous bearer was the Swedish actress Ingrid Bergman (1915-1982).
ÍÑIGOmSpanishMedieval Spanish form of
ENEKO. This was the birth name of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, who changed it in honour of Saint Ignatius of Antioch. As such, this name is sometimes regarded as a form of
IGNATIUS.
INIGOmEnglish (Rare)English form of
ÍÑIGO. It became well-known in Britain due to the 17th-century English architect Inigo Jones. He was named after his father, a Catholic who was named for Saint Ignatius of Loyola.
INMACULADAfSpanishMeans "immaculate" in Spanish. This name is given to commemorate the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin
Mary.
INNAfRussian, UkrainianMeaning unknown. This was the name of an early Scythian saint and martyr, a male, supposedly a disiciple of Saint
Andrew.