Issey

Cornish

"place and saint's name"

Issey Origin and Meaning

The name Issey is a girl's name meaning "place and saint's name".

It looks like an alternative spelling of Izzy/Issy (and may well have been used as such), but Issey is actually a Cornish place and saint's name.

The exact figure which the place name of St Issey references is not entirely clear. One possibility is that it is St Ita (or Itha, Ida, Ide), a 6th century Irish nun and abbess who remains one of Ireland's most venerated female saints. Another possibility is that it is St Yse (or Ysy), one of the many children of the 4th century Welsh saint and king St Brychan. St Yse is considered female in some sources, and male in others.

Issey may also be a variant form of Iseult/Isolde, which is of unknown meaning – possibly "ice ruler", from Germanic origins, but perhaps more likely of uncertain Celtic origins.