Huxley m English (Modern)From an English surname that was derived from the name of a town in Cheshire. The final element is Old English
leah "woodland, clearing", while the first element might be
hux "insult, scorn". A famous bearer of the surname was the British author Aldous Huxley (1894-1963).
Hwan m KoreanFrom Sino-Korean
煥 (hwan) meaning "shining, brilliant, lustrous" or other characters that are pronounced similarly. It usually occurs in combination with another character.
Hyacinthus m Greek Mythology (Latinized), Ancient Greek (Latinized)Latinized form of the Greek name
Ὑάκινθος (Hyakinthos), which was derived from the name of the hyacinth flower. In Greek legend Hyakinthos was accidentally killed by the god
Apollo, who mournfully caused this flower to arise from his blood. The name was also borne by several early saints, notably a 3rd-century martyr who was killed with his brother Protus.
Hye m KoreanFrom Sino-Korean
慧 (hye) meaning "bright, intelligent" or other characters that are pronounced in the same way. Although it does appear rarely as a single-character name, it is more often used in combination with another character. A notable bearer was a 6th-century king of Baekje.
Hyeon m & f KoreanFrom Sino-Korean
賢 (hyeon) meaning "virtuous, worthy, able" or other characters that are pronounced similarly. It usually occurs in combination with another character, though it is sometimes used as a stand-alone name.
Hyeon-Ju f & m KoreanFrom Sino-Korean
賢 (hyeon) meaning "virtuous, worthy, able" and
珠 (ju) meaning "jewel, pearl". This name can be formed by other hanja character combinations as well.
Hyeon-U m KoreanFrom Sino-Korean
賢 (hyeon) meaning "virtuous, worthy, able" or
顯 (hyeon) meaning "manifest, clear" combined with
祐 (u) meaning "divine intervention, protection" or
雨 (u) meaning "rain". This name can be formed by other hanja character combinations as well.
Hyperion m Greek MythologyDerived from Greek
ὑπέρ (hyper) meaning
"over". In Greek myth this was the name of a Titan who presided over the sun and light. By
Theia he was the father of the sun god
Helios, the moon goddess
Selene, and the dawn goddess
Eos.
Hyrum m English (Rare)Variant of
Hiram. This name was borne by Hyrum Smith (1800-1844), an early leader within the Mormon Church.
Hywel m WelshFrom Old Welsh
Higuel meaning
"eminent, prominent" (literally
"well-seen"). This was the name of a few Welsh kings, including the 10th-century Hywel the Good who was known for establishing laws.
Iacob m Romanian, Biblical LatinRomanian form of
Jacob (or
James). This is also the form of
Jacob found in the Latin Old Testament (and the New Testament when referring to the patriarch).
Iago m Welsh, Galician, PortugueseWelsh and Galician form of
Iacobus (see
James). This was the name of two early Welsh kings of Gwynedd. It is also the name of the villain in Shakespeare's tragedy
Othello (1603).
Iah m Egyptian MythologyFrom Egyptian
jꜥḥ meaning
"moon". In Egyptian mythology this was the name of a god of the moon, later identified with
Thoth.
Iakob m Biblical Greek, GeorgianForm of
Jacob used in the Greek Old Testament, as well as in the Greek New Testament when referring to the patriarch. This is also the Georgian form of the name (referring to the two apostles named James as well as the patriarch).
Ian m Scottish, EnglishAnglicized form of Scottish Gaelic
Iain, itself from Latin
Iohannes (see
John). It became popular in the United Kingdom outside of Scotland in the first half of the 20th century, but did not begin catching on in America until the 1960s.
Iarlaithe m Old IrishFrom an Old Irish element of unknown meaning combined with
flaith "ruler, sovereign". Saint Iarlaithe was the founder of a monastery at Tuam in the 6th century.
Ibragim m Chechen, Ossetian, KyrgyzChechen, Ossetian and Kyrgyz form of
Ibrahim. This is also a Russian form, used to Russify native versions of the name in countries that were once part of the Soviet Union.
Ibrahim m Arabic, Malay, Indonesian, Pashto, Urdu, Kazakh, Tatar, Bashkir, Avar, Bosnian, Dhivehi, Albanian, Hausa, SwahiliArabic form of
Abraham, also used in several other languages. This form appears in the Quran.
Icarus m Greek Mythology (Latinized)From the Greek
Ἴκαρος (Ikaros), of unknown meaning. In Greek myth Icarus was the son of
Daedalus, locked with his father inside the Labyrinth by
Minos. They escaped from the maze using wings devised from wax, but Icarus flew too close to the sun and the wax melted, plunging him to his death.
Ichabod m BiblicalMeans
"no glory" in Hebrew, from the roots
אִי (ʾi) meaning "not" and
כָּבַד (kavaḏ) meaning "to be glorious". In the Old Testament this is the grandson of
Eli and the son of
Phinehas. He was named this because his mother despaired that "the glory has departed from Israel" (
1 Samuel 4:21).
... [more] Ichirō m JapaneseFrom Japanese
一 (ichi) meaning "one" and
郎 (rō) meaning "son". This was traditionally a name given to the first son. Other combinations of kanji characters are also possible.
Iddo m BiblicalFrom the Hebrew name
עִדּוֹ (ʿIddo), possibly derived from
עָדָה (ʿaḏa) meaning "to pass by". This is the name of a few characters in the Old Testament, including an obscure prophet who lived during the reign of
Solomon and the grandfather of the prophet
Zechariah.
Idris 1 m Arabic, Malay, IndonesianPossibly means
"interpreter, teacher" in Arabic, related to the root
درس (darasa) meaning "to study, to learn". According to the Quran this was the name of an ancient prophet. He is traditionally equated with the Hebrew prophet
Enoch.
Idris 2 m WelshMeans
"ardent lord" from Old Welsh
iudd "lord" combined with
ris "ardent, enthusiastic". This name was borne by Idris the Giant, a 7th-century king of Meirionnydd.
Idwal m WelshFrom the Old Welsh name
Iudgual derived from
iudd "lord" combined with
gual "ruler, leader".
Ieuan m WelshMedieval Welsh form of
Iohannes (see
John), revived in the 19th century.
Ifan m WelshModern form of
Ieuan, a medieval Welsh form of
Iohannes (see
John).
Ige f & m YorubaMeans
"born feet first" in Yoruba.
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, Portuguese, BasqueRussian form of the Old Norse name
Yngvarr (see
Ingvar). The Varangians brought it with them when they began settling in Eastern Europe in the 9th century. It was borne by two grand princes of Kyiv, notably Igor I the son of
Rurik and the husband of Saint
Olga. Other famous bearers include Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971), a Russian composer known for
The Rite of Spring, and Igor Sikorsky (1889-1972), the Russian-American designer of the first successful helicopter.
I-Jun m KoreanFrom Sino-Korean
利 (i) meaning "advantage, benefit" combined with
准 (jun) meaning "approve, permit". This name can be formed by other hanja characters as well.
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.
Iker m BasqueMeans
"visitation" in Basque. It is an equivalent of the Spanish name
Visitación, coined by Sabino Arana in his 1910 list of Basque saints names.
Ildefonso m SpanishSpanish form of the Visigothic name *
Hildifuns, which meant
"battle ready", derived from the Gothic elements
hilds "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 realm 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, hero, brave".
Illtyd m WelshFrom Old Welsh
Eltut, derived from the intensive prefix
el- combined with
tut "people, country". 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, pillar" in Arabic, a derivative of
عمد (ʿamada) meaning "to support".
Imants m LatvianPossibly from Livonian (a Finnic language that was spoken in Latvia)
im "miracle" and
and "to give".
Ime 2 m & f FrisianOriginally a short form of names beginning with the Old German element
irmin meaning
"whole, great".
Imhotep m Ancient EgyptianFrom Egyptian
jj-m-ḥtp meaning
"he comes in peace". This was the name of a 27th-century BC 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.
Inari f & m Japanese MythologyMeans
"carrying rice" in Japanese, from
稲 (ina) meaning "rice" and
荷 (ri) meaning "carry". This is the name of a Japanese divinity associated with prosperity, rice and foxes, represented as both female and male.
Indalecio m SpanishSpanish form of the Latin name
Indaletius, of uncertain origin. Saint Indaletius was a 1st-century missionary to Almería, Spain.
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 (Modern)From the English word
indigo for the purplish-blue dye or the colour. It is ultimately derived from Greek
Ἰνδικόν (Indikon) meaning "Indic, from India".
Indra m Hinduism, Hindi, Nepali, IndonesianMeans
"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, frequently depicted riding the elephant Airavata. He is the chief god in the
Rigveda.
Ing m Germanic MythologyFrom the Germanic *
Ingwaz, possibly meaning
"ancestor". This was the name of an obscure 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, Dutch, EstonianShort 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).
Ingomar m German (Rare), GermanicFrom the name of the Germanic god
Ing combined with Old German
mari "famous", making it a cognate of
Ingemar. Ingomar (or Inguiomer) was a 1st-century leader of the Cherusci, a Germanic tribe.
Ingram m Germanic, English (Rare)Germanic name composed of either the element
angil, from the name of the Germanic tribe of the Angles, or
engil meaning "angel" combined with
hram meaning "raven". This name was brought to England by the Normans, though it died out after the medieval era. These days it is usually inspired by the surname that was derived from the medieval name.
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 English architect Inigo Jones (1573-1652). He was named after his father, a Catholic who was named for Saint Ignatius of Loyola.
Innocent m History (Ecclesiastical), English (African)From 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.
... [more] Inunnguaq m GreenlandicMeans
"little person" in Greenlandic, from
inuk "person, human" and the diminutive suffix
-nnguaq.
Ioannikios m Late GreekCombination of
Ioannes and Greek
νίκη (nike) meaning "victory". This name was borne by Ioannikios (or Joannicius) the Great, a 9th-century Byzantine saint.