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.

Ignatius Rank in US Top 1000

# 753 in the US

Ignatius Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 231 on Nameberry

Popularity of the name Ignatius

• 231 Nameberry 2025
• 813 Unique 2023

20 Names Similar to Ignatius

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Ignatius.

• Percival
• Balthazar
• Constantine
• Cyril
• Florian
• Amadeus
• Marius
• Mordecai
• Isidore
• Oberon
• Lazarus
• Cornelius
• Romulus
• Remus
• Peregrine
• Ulysses
• Aloysius
• Octavius
• Lysander
• Fabian

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

The name 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"

International Variations of the name Ignatius

• Nacho Spanish
• Ignacio Spanish
• Ignaas Dutch
• Ignatz German
• Ignacy Polish
• Iáaki Basque
• Ignacius German
• Ignado Spanish
• Ignati Russian
• Inigo Basque
• Nacio Spanish
• Nacek Polish
• Ignác Czech
• Ignat Russian
• Ignatiy Russian
• Ignacek Polish
• Ignace French
• Ignatios Greek
• Ignazio Spanish
• Ignate German