Behind the Name: Surnames Starting with I

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IANSON English
Variant of JANSON.

IBÁÑEZ Spanish
Means "son of Ibán", Ibán being a variant of JUAN (1).

IBARRA Basque, Spanish
From Basque place names derived from ibar meaning "meadow".

IBBOT English
Variant of IBBOTT.

IBBOTT English
Matronymic surname derived from the old feminine name Ibota, which in turn was derived from ISABEL, the oldest form of ELIZABETH to be introduced into England.

IBSEN Danish
Means "son of IB".

IDONI Italian
Means "fit, suitable" from the Latin word idoneus.

IDOWU Western African, Yoruba
From the given name IDOWU.

IGNÁCZ Hungarian
Derived from the given name IGNÁC.

IGNATIEV Bulgarian
Means "son of Ignati", Ignati being an archaic Bulgarian form of IGNATIUS.

IGNATOV Bulgarian
Means "son of Ignat", Ignat being the Bulgarian form of IGNATIUS.

IHEJIRIKA Western African, Igbo
Means "the one that I have is greater" in Igbo.

IKEDA Japanese
From Japanese 池 (ike) meaning "pool, pond" and 田 (ta) meaning "field".

IKIN English
Derived from a diminutive of the medieval given name IDA.

ILBERT English
Derived from a Norman French form of the Germanic given name HILDIBERHT.

ILIĆ Serbian, Croatian
Means "son of ILIJA".

ILIESCU Romanian
Means "son of ILIE".

ILIEV Bulgarian
Means "son of ILIYA".

ILLÉS Hungarian
Derived from the given name ILLÉS.

INGERSLEBEN German
From the name of the town of Ingersleben, Germany, which meant "Inge's village".

INGERSSON Swedish
Variant of INGESSON.

INGESSON Swedish
Means "son of INGE".

INGHAM English
From an English place name meaning "INGA's homestead".

INGOLFSSON Icelandic
Means "son of INGÓLFR".

INGRAM English
Derived from the Norman French given name ENGUERRAND.

IÑÍGUEZ Spanish
Means "son of ÍÑIGO" in Spanish.

INNOCENTI Italian
From a nickname meaning "innocent" in Italian.

INOUE Japanese
Means "above the well", from Japanese 井 (i) meaning "well, mine shaft, pit", an unwritten possessive marker の (no), and 上 (ue) meaning "above, top, upper".

IOANNIDIS Greek
Means "son of IOANNIS" in Greek.

IONESCO Romanian
Variant of IONESCU. French-Romanian playwright Eugène Ionesco is a famous bearer of this surname.

IONESCU Romanian
Means "son of ION (1)" in Romanian.

IORDANOU Greek
Means "son of JORDAN" in Greek.

IRVIN English
Variant of IRVING or IRWIN.

IRVINE Scottish, English
Variant of IRVING.

IRVING Scottish, English
Originally derived from a Scottish place name (in North Ayrshire) meaning "green water".

IRWIN English
Derived from the Old English given name EOFORWINE.

ISAACSON English
Means "son of ISAAC".

ISAEV Bulgarian
Means "son of ISAY".

ISHIKAWA Japanese
From Japanese 石 (ishi) meaning "stone" and 川 (kawa) meaning "river, stream".

ITO Japanese
From Japanese 伊 (i) meaning "this" and 藤 (tou) meaning "wisteria". The final character may indicate a connection to the Fujiwara clan.

ITURBURUA Basque
Means "by the fountain" in Basque.

IVANKOV Bulgarian
Patronymic derived from a diminutive of IVAN.

IVANOV Bulgarian, Russian, Ukrainian, Macedonian
Means "son of IVAN".

IVANOVIĆ Croatian, Serbian
Means "son of IVAN".

IVERS English, Irish
Patronymic derived from the given name IVOR.

IVOV Bulgarian
Means "son of IVO (2)".

IYER Tamil
Referred to a person belonging to the Iyer subcaste of the larger Brahmin caste. The Iyer subcaste is traditionally devoted to the God Vishnu.