Boy · Latin
Ignatius
Say it: ig-NAY-shus
Meaning
From the Roman family name Egnatius, of unknown origin. The association with Latin ignis 'fire' is a later folk etymology.
Disputedsharp disagreement, or a popular meaning that is not supported.
Revived among Catholics after Ignatius of Loyola in the 16th century.
Its wave through time
Most used in the 1910s
In the United States
- 3,619 babies given this name since 1885
- At its height in 1913, about 1 in 9,500 boys
- 79 babies in 2020
Through the ages
- Ancient Rome750 BC to AD 476
- The Early Middle Ages400 to 800
- The Renaissance1400 to 1600
- Victorian and Belle Époque1837 to 1914
- The Modern Age1880 to today
Used by
The family of the name
Other spellings: Egnatius
| French | Ignace |
|---|---|
| Spanish | Ignacio |
| Italian | Ignazio |
| Portuguese | Inácio |
| German | Ignaz |
| Polish | Ignacy |
| Russian | Ignatiy |
| Hungarian | Ignác |
Famous bearers
- Ignatius of Antioch, martyr of the 2nd century
- Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits
Names worth a look
Where this comes from
- Lives of the saints and early Christian martyrologies
- Calendars of saints and name days
- 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.