Ignatius

ig-NAY-shus
Latin
"fiery"

Ignatius Origin and Meaning

The name Ignatius is a boy's name of Latin origin meaning "fiery".

The striking Ignatius is making a truly surprising comeback, sparked by its selection by not one but two celebrities — Cate Blanchett and Julianne Nicholson. With its fiery qualities and magical feel, Ignatius might just fit in with Blaze, Griffin, Ember, or Atticus.

While Ignatius is now associated with fire, it originally derived from the Ancient Etruscan Egnatius, a name of unknown meaning. The spelling was changed to make it closer to the sound-alike Latin word, ignis, and thus, the fire meaning was born.

The name of several saints including the founder of the Catholic Jesuit order, Ignatius was once reasonably well-used in the US, ranking in the Top 1000 in the early 20th century. Out of favor since 1930, it has been slowly trending upwards since the early 2000s, and as of 2023, it is given to around 90 boys each year.

Other notable bearers include: Charles Ignatius Sancho, a writer, abolitionist, composer, and the subject of a recent novel by Paterson James; Ignatius James, an Australian singer and producer; Ignatius Jones, a Fillipino-Australian rock singer and journalist; and Ignatius Ganago, a Cameroonian footballer. Writer of the Sherlock Holmes stories, Arthur Conan Doyle, also has Ignatius as a middle name.

One big selling point of Ignatius is that despite its grandeur, it has several down-to-earth nicknames: Iggy, Nate, and Nash. Plus, the Spanish variation, Ignacio, is long-standing feature in the US Top 1000, so while Ignatius might be rare, its close relative is definitely not.

Love Ignatius but can't quite commit to it? You could consider Indigo or Inigo with the nickname Iggy, or a similar-but-more-popular choice, like Azarius, Ozias, Ziggy, or Elias.

# 753 in the US

Ignatius Rank in US Top 1000

# 254 on Nameberry

Ignatius Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Ignatius Popularity

Famous People Named Ignatius

  • Saint Ignatius of Antioch
    Greek theologian, saint and martyr
  • Ignatius Loyola
    Spanish founder of Society of Jesus (Jesuits)
  • Ignatius Loyola Donnelly
    U.S. Congressman from Minnesota
  • Ignatius Sancho
    British composer, actor and writer
  • Ignatius Aphrem II (born Sa'id Karim)
    patriarch of the Syriac Orthodox Church
  • Ignatius Jacob I
    former patriarch of the Syriac Orthodox Church
  • Ignatius Jones (born Juan Ignacio Trapaga)
    Australian vocalist for Jimmy and the Boys
  • Ignatius Martin Upton
    son of Australian actress Cate Blanchett
  • Ignatius Cake (b. 2007)
    son of American actress Julianne Nicholson
  • Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle
    Scottish novelist

Ignatius in Pop Culture

  • Ignatius J. Reilly
    character in "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
  • Ignatius
    character in TV movie "Like Father, Like Santa"
  • Ignatius 'Iggy' Thistlewhite
    character in 1974 animated film "The Year Without A Santa Claus"
  • Ignatius
    one of Sebastian the Crab's middle names in Disney's "The Little Mermaid"
  • Ignatius
    demon in the Summoner Trilogy by Taran Matharu
  • Percy Ignatius Weasley
    character in the Harry Potter series, named after his great,uncle Ignatius Prewet
  • Ignotus Peverell
    minor character in "Harry Potter"