Ianto
A Welsh masculine name meaning "gift of God" or "John."
Name Census estimates that about 12 living Americans carry the first name Ianto. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Ianto today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ianto births was 2014 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ianto. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Ianto with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Ianto. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
12
~ 1 in 28,562,862 Americans
Peak year
2014
6 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2015 SSA rank
#11,205
Tracked since 2014
Popularity
Ianto: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Ianto by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Ianto during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 12 | 0 | 12 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Ianto
The name Ianto is a Welsh given name with roots dating back to medieval times. It is believed to have originated from the combination of the Welsh words "iant," meaning "beau" or "handsome one," and the suffix "-o," which was commonly used for diminutive forms of names.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Ianto can be found in the Royal Genealogies of Wales, a compilation of Welsh noble pedigrees from the 13th century. Here, Ianto ap Rhys is mentioned as a member of the Welsh gentry from the region of Dyfed.
In the 14th century, the name appears in the poetry of Dafydd ap Gwilym, one of the most renowned poets of medieval Wales. He refers to a friend named Ianto in several of his works, suggesting the name was in use among the common people at the time.
A notable historical figure bearing the name Ianto was Ianto Jones (c. 1530-1609), a Welsh scholar and clergyman who served as the vicar of Llanegryn in Merionethshire. He is credited with producing one of the earliest translations of the Book of Common Prayer into the Welsh language.
Another prominent individual named Ianto was Ianto Wiliam (1613-1696), a Welsh poet and clergyman from Carmarthenshire. His poetry, written in the Welsh language, explored themes of religion and the natural world.
In the 18th century, Ianto Pritchard (1728-1803) was a Welsh clergyman and author who published several works on Welsh history and literature, including a translation of the ancient Welsh laws.
Ianto Owen (1801-1873) was a Welsh politician and lawyer who served as a Member of Parliament for Pembrokeshire from 1857 to 1868. He was known for his advocacy of Welsh language education and Welsh cultural preservation.
Lastly, Ianto Rees (1877-1949) was a Welsh artist and illustrator who gained recognition for his depictions of rural Welsh life and landscapes. His paintings and etchings captured the essence of Welsh culture and traditions in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
People
Ianto + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ianto as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with I
Other first names starting with I with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Ianto: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ianto?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 12 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ianto going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 28,562,862 US residents.
Is Ianto a common name?
We classify Ianto as "Very Rare". It ranks above 32.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 12 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ianto most popular?
The single biggest year for Ianto was 2014, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ianto is about 11 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Ianto in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ianto a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ianto in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Ianto still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ianto in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Ianto can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are called Ianto?
You can see how many people have the name Ianto on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.