IME (2) m & f FrisianShort form of names beginning with the Germanic element
ermen meaning "whole, universal".
IMOGEN f English (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".
INANNA f Sumerian 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] INDIA f EnglishFrom 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".
INDIANA f & m EnglishFrom 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.
INDIE f EnglishPossibly a diminutive of
INDIA or
INDIANA, but also likely inspired by the term
indie, short for
independent, which is typically used to refer to media produced outside of the mainstream.
INDIGO f & m English (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".
INDU f Indian, HindiMeans "bright drop" in Sanskrit. This is a name for the moon.
INGE f & m Danish, 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.
INGRID f Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, DutchFrom 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).
INJA f SloveneSlovene short form of names ending with
ina.
INMACULADA f SpanishMeans "immaculate" in Spanish. This name is given to commemorate the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin
Mary.
INNA f Russian, UkrainianMeaning unknown. This was the name of an early Scythian saint and martyr, a male, supposedly a disciple of Saint
Andrew.
IO f Greek MythologyMeaning unknown. In Greek mythology Io was a princess loved by
Zeus, who changed her into a heifer in order to hide her from
Hera. A moon of Jupiter bears this name in her honour.
IOLANTHE f VariousProbably a variant of
YOLANDA influenced by the Greek words
ιολη (iole) "violet" and
ανθος (anthos) "flower". This name was (first?) used by Gilbert and Sullivan in their comic opera 'Iolanthe' (1882).
IONA (1) f English, ScottishFrom the name of the island off Scotland where Saint Columba founded a monastery. The name of the island is Old Norse in origin, and apparently derives simply from
ey meaning "island".
IONE f Greek Mythology, EnglishFrom Ancient Greek
ιον (ion) meaning "violet flower". This was the name of a sea nymph in Greek mythology. It has been used as a given name in the English-speaking world since the 19th century, though perhaps based on the Greek place name
Ionia, a region on the west coast of Asia Minor.
IPHIGENEIA f Greek MythologyDerived from Greek
ιφιος (iphios) "strong, stout" and
γενης (genes) "born". In Greek myth Iphigenia was the daughter of King
Agamemnon. When her father offended
Artemis it was divined that the only way to appease the goddess was to sacrifice Iphigenia. Just as Agamemnon was about to sacrifice his daughter she was magically transported to the city of Taurus.
... [more] IRACEMA f Native American, TupiMeans "honey lips" in Tupi. This is the name of an 1865 novel by José de Alencar, about the relationship between a Tupi woman and a Portuguese man during the early colonial period. Alencar may have constructed the name so that it would be an anagram of
America.
IRELAND f English (Modern)From the name of the European island country, derived from Irish Gaelic
Éire, which may mean something like "abundant land" in Old Irish.
İREM f TurkishTurkish form of Arabic
إرَم (Iram), the name of a beautiful city mentioned in the 89th chapter (surah al-Fajr) of the Quran.
IRENE f English, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, German, Dutch, Ancient Greek (Latinized), Greek Mythology (Latinized)From Greek
Ειρηνη (Eirene), derived from a word meaning "peace". This was the name of the Greek goddess who personified peace, one of the
‘Ωραι (Horai). It was also borne by several early Christian saints. The name was common in the Byzantine Empire, notably being borne by an 8th-century empress, who was the first woman to lead the empire. She originally served as regent for her son, but later had him killed and ruled alone.
... [more] IRIA f Portuguese, GalicianPossibly a Portuguese and Galician form of
IRENE. This was the name of a 7th-century saint (also known as Irene) from Tomar in Portugal. This is also the name of an ancient town in Galicia (now a district of Padrón).
IRIS f Greek Mythology, English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, French, Spanish, GreekMeans "rainbow" in Greek. Iris was the name of the Greek goddess of the rainbow, also serving as a messenger to the gods. This name can also be given in reference to the word (which derives from the same Greek source) for the iris flower or the coloured part of the eye.
IRMA f German, English, Dutch, Finnish, Spanish, Italian, Georgian, Lithuanian, Hungarian (Rare), Ancient GermanicGerman short form of names beginning with the Germanic element
ermen, which meant "whole, universal". It is thus related to
EMMA. It began to be regularly used in the English-speaking world in the 19th century.
ISABEL f Spanish, Portuguese, English, French, GermanMedieval Occitan form of
ELIZABETH. It spread throughout Spain, Portugal and France, becoming common among the royalty by the 12th century. It grew popular in England in the 13th century after Isabella of Angoulême married the English king John, and it was subsequently bolstered when Isabella of France married Edward II the following century.
... [more] ISABELLA f Italian, German, English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, RomanianLatinate form of
ISABEL. This name was borne by many medieval royals, including queen consorts of England, France, Portugal, the Holy Roman Empire and Hungary, as well as the powerful ruling queen Isabella of Castile (properly called
Isabel).
ISCAH f BiblicalFrom the Hebrew name
יִסְכָּה (Yiskah) meaning "to behold". In the Old Testament this is the name of
Abraham's niece, mentioned only briefly. This is the basis of the English name
Jessica.
ISHA f & m Indian, Hindi, Marathi, HinduismMeans "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.
ISHTAR f Semitic MythologyMeaning unknown. Ishtar was an Akkadian, Assyrian and Babylonian goddess who presided over love, war and fertility. She was cognate with the Canaanite and Phoenician
Ashtoreth, and she was also identified with the Sumerian goddess
Inanna.
ISIS f Egyptian Mythology (Hellenized)Greek form of Egyptian
Ist (reconstructed as
Iset or
Ueset), which possibly meant "the throne". In Egyptian mythology Isis was the goddess of the sky and nature, the wife of
Osiris and the mother of
Horus. She was originally depicted wearing a throne-shaped headdress, but in later times she was conflated with the goddess
Hathor and depicted having the horns of a cow on her head. She was also worshipped by people outside of Egypt, such as the Greeks and Romans.
ISLA f Scottish, EnglishVariant of
ISLAY, typically used as a feminine name. It also coincides with the Spanish word
isla meaning "island".
ISMENE f Greek MythologyPossibly from Greek
ισμη (isme) "knowledge". This was the name of the daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta in Greek legend.
ISOLDE f English (Rare), German, Arthurian RomanceThe origins of this name are uncertain, though some Celtic roots have been suggested. It is possible that the name is ultimately Germanic, perhaps from a hypothetic name like
Ishild, composed of the elements
is "ice, iron" and
hild "battle".
... [more] ISRA f ArabicMeans "nocturnal journey", derived from Arabic
سرى (sara) "to travel at night".
IÐUNN f Norse Mythology, Ancient ScandinavianProbably derived from Old Norse
ið "again" and
unna "to love". In Norse mythology Iðunn was the goddess of spring and immortality whose responsibility it was to guard the gods' apples of youth.
ITZIAR f Basque, SpanishFrom the name of a Basque village that contains an important shrine to the Virgin
Mary, possibly meaning "old stone".
IVAH f BiblicalFrom the name of a district of Babylon, mentioned in the Old Testament.
IVORY m & f African AmericanFrom the English word for the hard, creamy-white substance that comes from elephant tusks and was formerly used to produce piano keys.
IVY f EnglishFrom the English word for the climbing plant that has small yellow flowers. It is ultimately derived from Old English
ifig.
IXCHEL f Mayan Mythology, Native American, MayanMeans "rainbow lady" in Mayan. Ixchel was the Maya goddess of the earth, the moon, and medicine. She was often depicted with a snake in her hair and crossbones embroidered on her skirt.
IZANAMI f Far Eastern MythologyMeans "female who invites" in Japanese. In Japanese mythology she was a creator goddess, the wife of
Izanagi. She died giving birth to Kagututi, the god of fire.
IZARO f BasqueMeaning unknown, from the name of a small island off the Spanish coast in the Bay of Biscay.
IZUMI f JapaneseFrom Japanese
泉 (izumi) meaning "fountain, spring". This name can also be constructed from other combinations of kanji.
JACKIE m & f EnglishDiminutive of
JACK or
JACQUELINE. A notable bearer was baseball player Jackie Robinson (1919-1972), the first African-American to play in Major League Baseball.
JADA (1) f EnglishPossibly an elaborated form of
JADE. This name came into general use in the 1960s, and was popularized in the 1990s by actress Jada Pinkett Smith (1971-).
JADE f & m English, FrenchFrom the name of the precious stone that is often used in carvings. It is derived from Spanish
(piedra de la) ijada meaning "(stone of the) flank", relating to the belief that jade could cure renal colic. As a given name, it came into general use during the 1970s. It was initially unisex, though it is now mostly feminine.
JADEN m & f English (Modern)An invented name, using the popular
den suffix sound found in such names as
Braden,
Hayden and
Aidan. This name first became common in American in the 1990s when similar-sounding names were increasing in popularity. It is sometimes considered a variant of
JADON.
JADWIGA f PolishPolish form of
HEDWIG. This was the name of a 14th-century ruling queen of Poland who has recently been canonized as a saint.
JAE (1) m & f KoreanFrom Sino-Korean
才 (jae) meaning "talent, ability" or
財 (jae) meaning "wealth, riches", as well as other hanja characters with the same pronunciation. It usually occurs in combination with another character, though it is sometimes used as a stand-alone name.
JAEL f BiblicalFrom the Hebrew name
יָעֵל (Ya'el) meaning "ibex, mountain goat". This name appears in the Old Testament belonging to the wife of
Heber the Kenite. After Sisera, the captain of the Canaanite army, was defeated in battle by
Deborah and
Barak he took refuge in Heber's tent. When he fell asleep Jael killed him by hammering a tent peg into his head.
JAIME (2) f EnglishVariant of
JAMIE. The character Jaime Sommers from the television series 'The Bionic Woman' (1976-1978) helped to popularize the name. It can sometimes be given in reference to the French phrase
j'aime meaning "I love", though it is pronounced differently.
JAMIE m & f Scottish, EnglishOriginally a Lowland Scots diminutive of
JAMES. Since the late 19th century it has also been used as a feminine form.
JANE f EnglishMedieval English form of
Jehanne, an Old French feminine form of
Iohannes (see
JOHN). This became the most common feminine form of
John in the 17th century, surpassing
Joan.
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