IGNATIUS m Late 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.
IGOR m Russian, Polish, Slovene, Croatian, Serbian, Macedonian, Slovak, Czech, 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.
IKE m EnglishDiminutive of
ISAAC. This was the nickname of the American president Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890-1969), based on the initial sound of his surname.
ILDEFONSO m SpanishSpanish 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.
İLHAN m TurkishFrom 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.
ILIR m AlbanianMeans
"Illyrian" in Albanian, referring to an ancient people who inhabited the Balkans.
İLKAY f & m TurkishMeans
"new moon" in Turkish, derived from
ilk "first" and
ay "moon".
İLKER m TurkishMeans
"first man" in Turkish, derived from
ilk "first" and
er "man, brave".
ILLTYD m WelshMeans
"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.
ILMARINEN m Finnish MythologyDerived from Finnish
ilma meaning
"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-SEONG m KoreanFrom 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.
IMAD m ArabicMeans
"support" or
"pillar" in Arabic.
IME (2) m & f FrisianShort form of names beginning with the Germanic element
ermen meaning
"whole, universal".
IMHOTEP m Ancient 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.
IMRE m HungarianHungarian form of
EMMERICH. This was the name of an 11th-century Hungarian saint, the son of Saint Istvan. He is also known as Emeric.
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.
INDIGO f & m English (Rare)From the English word
indigo for the purplish-blue dye or the colour. It is ultimately derived from Greek
Ἰνδικὸν (Indikon) meaning "Indic, from India".
INDRA m Hinduism, 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 Rigveda.
INDRAJIT m Hinduism, 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.
ING m Germanic 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.
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.
INGEMAR m SwedishFrom the Old Norse name
Ingimárr, derived from the name of the Germanic god
ING combined with
mærr "famous".
INGMAR m SwedishVariant of
INGEMAR. This name was borne by the Swedish film director Ingmar Bergman (1918-2007).
ÍÑIGO m SpanishMedieval 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.
INIGO m English (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.
INNOCENT m HistoryFrom the Late Latin name
Innocentius, which was derived from
innocens "innocent". This was the name of several early saints. It was also borne by 13 popes including Innocent III, a politically powerful ruler and organizer of the Fourth Crusade.
ION (2) m Greek MythologyOf unknown etymology, possibly pre-Greek. According to Greek mythology he was a son of Creusa and Xuthus (or alternatively the god
Apollo). He was said to be the ancestor of the Greek tribe of the Ionians.
IORWERTH m WelshMeans
"handsome lord" from Welsh
ior "lord" and
berth "handsome". This name is used in the Mabinogion, a collection of tales from Welsh myth, where it belongs to a son of Maredudd. This name is sometimes used as a Welsh form of
EDWARD.
IQBAL m ArabicMeans
"fortunate" in Arabic. Allama Muhammad Iqbal (1877-1938) was a poet, philosopher, and scholar from Pakistan.
IRA (1) m Biblical, English, HebrewMeans
"watchful" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament this is the name of King
David's priest. As an English Christian given name,
Ira began to be used after the Protestant Reformation. In the 17th century the Puritans brought it to America, where remained moderately common into the 20th century.
IRFAN m ArabicMeans
"knowledge, awareness, learning" in Arabic.
IRNERIUS m HistoryPossibly from
Wernerius, a Latinized form of the Germanic name
WERNER. This was the name of a 12th-century Italian scholar and jurist.
IRVING m English, Scottish, JewishFrom a Scottish surname that was in turn derived from a Scottish place name meaning
"green water". Historically this name has been relatively common among Jews, who have used it as an American-sounding form of Hebrew names beginning with
I such as
Isaac,
Israel and
Isaiah. A famous bearer was the Russian-American songwriter and lyricist Irving Berlin (1888-1989), whose birth name was Israel Beilin.
ISA (1) m Arabic, Persian, AlbanianArabic form of
JESUS. This form is found in the Quran and is used as a given name by Muslims. Arabic-speaking Christians instead use
يسوع (Yasu') to refer to Jesus Christ.
ISAAC m English, Spanish, Catalan, Jewish, Biblical, Biblical LatinFrom the Hebrew name
יִצְחָק (Yitzchaq) meaning
"he will laugh, he will rejoice", derived from
צָחַק (tzachaq) meaning "to laugh". The Old Testament explains this meaning, by recounting that
Abraham laughed when God told him that his aged wife
Sarah would become pregnant with Isaac (see
Genesis 17:17), and later Sarah laughed when overhearing the same prophecy (see
Genesis 18:12). When Isaac was a boy, God tested Abraham's faith by ordering him to sacrifice his son, though an angel prevented the act at the last moment. Isaac went on to become the father of
Esau and
Jacob with his wife
Rebecca.
... [more] ISAGANI m Filipino, TagalogMeaning unknown. This is the name of a character in the novel
El Filibusterismo (1891) by José Rizal.
ISAIAH m English, BiblicalFrom the Hebrew name
יְשַׁעְיָהוּ (Yesha'yahu) meaning
"YAHWEH is salvation", from the roots
יָשַׁע (yasha') meaning "to save" and
יָה (yah) referring to the Hebrew God. Isaiah is one of the four major prophets of the Old Testament, supposedly the author of the Book of Isaiah. He was from Jerusalem and probably lived in the 8th century BC, at a time when Assyria threatened the Kingdom of Judah. As an English Christian name,
Isaiah was first used after the Protestant Reformation.
ISAMU m JapaneseFrom Japanese
勇 (isamu) meaning "brave" or other kanji having the same pronunciation.
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.
ISHKUR m Sumerian MythologyMeaning unknown, of Sumerian origin. This was the name of a Sumerian storm god, later identified by the Akkadians with
Adad.
ISHMAEL m BiblicalFrom the Hebrew name
יִשְׁמָעֵאל (Yishma'el) meaning
"God will hear", from the roots
שָׁמַע (shama') meaning "to hear" and
אֵל ('el) meaning "God". In the Old Testament this is the name of a son of
Abraham. He is the traditional ancestor of the Arab people. Also in the Old Testament, it is borne by a man who assassinates
Gedaliah the governor of Judah. The author Herman Melville later used this name for the narrator in his novel
Moby-Dick (1851).
ISHMERAI m BiblicalMeans
"he guards" in Hebrew. This name is mentioned briefly in the Old Testament.
ISHVI m BiblicalMeans
"he resembles me" in Hebrew. This is the name of a son of
Asher in the Old Testament.
ISLAMBEK m ChechenDerived from
Islam, the name of the religion (ultimately from Arabic
إسلام), combined with the Turkish military title
beg meaning "chieftain, master".
ISLAY m & f ScottishFrom the name of the island of Islay, which lies off of the west coast of Scotland.
ISLWYN m WelshFrom the name of a mountain in Wales that means "below the grove" from Welsh
is "below" and
llwyn "grove".
ISRAFIL m Judeo-Christian LegendMeaning unknown. In Islamic tradition this is the name of the angel who will blow the trumpet that signals the coming of Judgement Day. He is sometimes equated with the angels
Raphael or
Uriel from Judeo-Christian tradition.
ISSACHAR m Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical GreekPossibly means
"man of hire" or
"there is reward", from Hebrew
שָׁכַר (shakhar) meaning "hire, wage, reward". In the Old Testament this is the name of one of the twelve sons of
Jacob (by
Leah) and the founder of one of the twelve tribes of Israel. A justification for the name's meaning is given in
Genesis 30:18.
ISTVÁN m HungarianHungarian form of
STEPHEN. This was the name of the first king of Hungary. Ruling in the 11th century, he encouraged the spread of Christianity among his subjects and is considered the patron saint of Hungary.
ITALUS m Roman MythologyMeans
"of Italy" in Latin. In Roman legend Italus was the father of
Romulus and
Remus, the founders of Rome. He supposedly gave his name to the region known as Italia or Italy (in fact the region may have gotten its name from Oscan
Víteliú meaning "land of bulls").
ITHAI m BiblicalFrom a Hebrew name spelled variously
אִתַּי ('Ittai) or
אִיתַי ('Itai) meaning
"with me". In the Old Testament this is the name of one of King
David's mighty men.
ITHEL m WelshMeans
"generous lord" from the Welsh elements
udd "lord, prince" and
hael "generous".
ITHIEL m BiblicalPossibly means
"God is with me" in Hebrew. This is the name of a minor character in the Old Testament.
ITSUKI m JapaneseFrom Japanese
樹 (itsuki) meaning "tree", using the kanji's nanori reading. Other kanji or kanji combinations can also form this name.