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).
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.
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 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.
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.
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] 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.
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 Qur'an.
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] IRFAN m ArabicMeans "knowledge, awareness, learning" in Arabic.
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.
IRIT f HebrewMeans "asphodel" in Hebrew (an asphodel is a type of flower).
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.
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 which 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.
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). 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] 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).
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". 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.
ISCAH f BiblicalFrom the Hebrew name
יִסְכָּה (Yiskah) which meant "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.
ISHMAEL m BiblicalFrom the Hebrew name
יִשְׁמָעֵאל (Yishma'el) meaning "God will hear". 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).
ISHTAR f Near Eastern MythologyMeaning unknown. Ishtar was the Babylonian and Assyrian mother goddess who presided over love, war and fertility. She was called
Ashtoreth by the Phoenicians, and she was also identified with the Sumerian goddess
Inanna.
ISHVI m BiblicalMeans "he resembles me" in Hebrew. This is the name of a son of
Asher in the Old Testament.
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.
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 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 which means "below the grove" from Welsh
is "below" and
llwyn "grove".
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".
ISRAEL m Jewish, English, Biblical, Biblical GreekFrom the Hebrew name
יִשְׂרָאֵל (Yisra'el) meaning "God contended". In the Old Testament Israel (who was formerly named
Jacob; see Genesis 32:28) wrestles with an angel. The ancient and modern states of Israel took their names from him.
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) "hire, wage, reward". In the Old Testament this is the name of one of the twelve sons of
Jacob and
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 ('Ittay) or
אִיתַי ('Itay) 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 BiblicalMeans "God is with me" in Hebrew. This was the name of a minor character in the Old Testament.
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.
ITSUKI m JapaneseFrom Japanese
樹 (itsuki) meaning "tree", using the kanji's nanori reading. Other kanji or kanji combinations can also form this name.
ITZIAR f Basque, SpanishFrom the name of a Basque village which 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.
IVAN m Russian, Bulgarian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Serbian, Croatian, Czech, Slovak, Macedonian, Slovene, English, Italian, Danish, Swedish, NorwegianNewer form of the old Slavic name
Іѡаннъ (Ioannu), which was derived from Greek
Ioannes (see
JOHN). This was the name of six Russian rulers, including the 15th-century Ivan III the Great and 16th-century Ivan IV the Terrible, the first tsar of Russia. It was also borne by nine emperors of Bulgaria. Other notable bearers include the Russian author Ivan Turgenev (1818-1883), who wrote 'Fathers and Sons', and the Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936), who is best known for his discovery of the conditioned reflex.
IVAYLO m BulgarianPerhaps derived from an old Bulgar name meaning "wolf". This was the name of a 13th-century emperor of Bulgaria. It is possible that this spelling was the result of a 15th-century misreading of his real name
Vulo from historical documents.
IVES m HistoryEnglish form of
YVES, used to refer to Saint Ives (also called Ivo) of Huntingdonshire, a semi-legendary English bishop.
IVO (1) m German, Dutch, Italian, Portuguese, Czech, Ancient GermanicGermanic name, originally a short form of names beginning with the Germanic element
iv meaning "yew". Alternative theories suggest that it may in fact be derived from a cognate Celtic element. This was the name of several saints (who are also commonly known as Saint
Yves or
Ives).