Ignacio

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Boy · Latin, possibly Etruscan

Ignacio

Say it: eeg-NAH-thyoh

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Meaning

From the Roman family name Egnatius, of uncertain (possibly Etruscan) origin; the spelling with Ig- reflects a later association with Latin ignis 'fire', not the source.

Uncertainseveral explanations, none settled.

Spread with the Jesuits, founded by Saint Ignatius of Loyola.

Its wave through time

In the United States

0510152018801900192019401960198020002020Peak 2002per 100,000 babies of that sex
  • 18,637 babies given this name since 1886
  • At its height in 2002, about 1 in 6,400 boys
  • 203 babies in 2020

Through the ages

  1. The Renaissance1400 to 1600
  2. The Colonial Americas1500 to 1800
  3. The Age of Revolutions1750 to 1837
  4. Victorian and Belle Époque1837 to 1914
  5. The Modern Age1880 to today

Used by

SpanishBasqueMexicanCentral AmericanAndeanArgentineCaribbean

The family of the name

Other spellings: Nacho

BasqueIñaki
CatalanIgnasi
PortugueseInácio
ItalianIgnazio

Famous bearers

  • Saint Ignatius of Loyola
  • Ignacio Allende, Mexican independence leader

Names worth a look

Where this comes from

  • Calendars of saints and name days
  • National birth statistics of European countries source
  • Lives of the saints and early Christian martyrologies
  • Parish baptism registers
  • United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source

Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.

Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.