I-Initial Names: Eyes on the ‘I’s’

I-Initial Names: Eyes on the ‘I’s’

Now that Isabella is #2 on the list of most popular girls’ names, Isaac and Isaiah are in the Top 50 for boys, and names like Isla are heating up, we’re wondering if the letter ‘I’ just might be in line to become the next vowel du jour, moving up on ‘A’ and ‘E’.

This didn’t seem a very likely prospect a few years ago, when, as recently as  1995, there wasn’t a single name starting with ‘I’ in the Top 100.  On the plus side, this means that there is a whole letter-full of neglected, waiting to be discovered, rediscovered and ready-to-be imported names.  And it’s a nice initial for a child to have, straight and strong and tied up with identity and ego.

The following girls names are the most fashion forward, either already being appreciated or else on the cusp:

IDA

ILANA/ILEANA

IMOGEN/IMOGENE

INDIA

INDIANA

INDIGO

INEZ

INGRID

IRELAND

IRENE

IRINA

IRIS

ISABEL/ISABELLE

ISABELLA

ISADORA

ISLA

IVORY

IVY

And some still not in  the mainstream:

IANTHE

IDRA

IGNACIA

ILIA

ILONA

IMAN

IMELDA

INGA/INGE

IOLANTHE

IONE

IPHIGENIA

ISABEAU

ISEULT

ISHBEL

ISIS

ISMAY

ISOLDE

IVANA/IVANKA

And a few that time has left behind:

ILA

ILKA

ILSA/ILSE

IMA

INA

IOLA

IONA

IRMA

ISA

There are fewer viable I-choices for the boys.  Those most often heard today:

IAN

IKE

INNES/INNIS

ISAAC

ISAIAH

ISIDORE

ISRAEL

IVAN

Those further out of the mainstream:

IAGO

IB

IBSEN

ICARUS

IFOR

IGGY

IGNATIUS

IGOR

ILYA

INGMAR

INGO

INGRAM

INIGO

IOLO

ISHAM

ISHAQ

ISHMAEL

IVAR

IVES

IVO

IVOR

And those, at least momentarily,  lost to time:

ICHABOD

IRA

IRVIN

IRVING

IRWIN

IZZY

About the Author

Linda Rosenkrantz

Linda Rosenkrantz

Linda Rosenkrantz is the co-founder of Nameberry, and co-author with Pamela Redmond of the ten baby naming books acknowledged to have revolutionized American baby naming. You can follow her personally at InstagramTwitter and Facebook. She is also the author of the highly acclaimed New York Review Books Classics novel Talk and a number of other books.