Ignatius

Where Ignatius comes from

From Latin Ignātius, variant of gens name Egnātius, altered to resemble ignis (“fire”), establishing a folk etymology meaning akin to “Fiery One”. Of uncertain origin, perhaps originally borrowed from Etruscan. It might be related to Ancient Greek ἴγνης (ígnēs, “indigene”), ἴγνητος (ígnētos), from *ἔν-γνη-τες (*én-gnē-tes), formed from έν (én) + Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- (“to give birth, produce”), also seen in γίγνομαι (gígnomai, “to come into being”).
— Wiktionary's entry for Ignatius
  • Latin
  • 3 syllables
Along the way
  1. 35
    Ignatius of Antioch born
    late 1st/early 2nd century Christian author and Patriarch of Antioch
  2. 1885
    First appearance
    #936 among boys, 5 babies — the first year at least five got the name.
  3. 1906
    Peak, #547
    18 babies named Ignatius — more than any year before or since.
  4. 1908
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #1,021.
  5. 1931
    Ignatius Kutu Acheampong born
    soldier and former military head of state of Ghana
In the dictionary
  • A male given name from Latin; of mostly Roman Catholic or Eastern Orthodox usage in English.
  • A male given name of historical usage, notably borne by Saint Ignatius of Antioch (died c. 108/140 CE)
  • A male given name of historical usage, notably borne by Saint Ignatius of Loyola (1491–1556)
Namesakes
  • Ignatius of Antioch · late 1st/early 2nd century Christian author and Patriarch of Antioch, 35–108
  • Ignatius Kutu Acheampong · soldier and former military head of state of Ghana, 1931–1979
  • Ignatius Joseph III Younan · Syrian-Catholic Patriarch, born 1944
  • Ignatius Suharyo Hardjoatmodjo · Catholic Cardinal, born 1950
  • Ignatius Kung Pin-Mei · Catholic cardinal, 1901–2000

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.