Ibis
Derived from the Egyptian word for the wading bird ibis.
Name Census estimates that about 66 living Americans carry the first name Ibis. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 82.6% of registrations being female. The average person named Ibis today is around 31 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ibis births was 2005 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ibis. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Ibis. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
66
~ 1 in 5,193,248 Americans
Peak year
2005
10 babies that year
Average age
31
years old
2008 SSA rank
#11,588
Tracked since 1964
Census
Ibis in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 905 people with the first name Ibis, which placed it at #13,369 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#13,369
National first-name rank
People counted
905
905 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
96.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ibis
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ibis is Hispanic at 96.5%. The next largest groups are White (1.5%) and Black (1.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Ibis described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Ibis at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino96.5% · 873
- White1.5% · 14
- Black or African American1.5% · 14
- Two or more races0.4% · 4
Gender
Gender distribution for Ibis
Ibis leans heavily female at 82.6% of total registrations, but 12 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Ibis as a male name
- Ranked #11,588 in 2008
- 6 male births in 2008
- Peak: 1977 (6 births)
Ibis as a female name
- Ranked #18,018 in 2010
- 5 female births in 2010
- Peak: 2005 (10 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ibis leans strongly female. 747 people counted with this name were female (82.8%), compared with 155 male bearers (17.2%).
Popularity
Ibis: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ibis from the 1960s through to the 2010s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 34 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ibis 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 Ibis during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ibis' live
Origin
Meaning and history of Ibis
The name Ibis has its origins in ancient Egyptian culture, where it was associated with the sacred ibis bird, a wading bird revered as a symbol of wisdom, knowledge, and the god Thoth. The name is derived from the ancient Egyptian word "ib," meaning "heart" or "desire," reflecting the bird's significance as a representation of the human heart and soul.
In ancient Egyptian mythology, the ibis bird was closely linked to the god Thoth, the deity of wisdom, writing, and knowledge. Thoth was often depicted with the head of an ibis, and the bird was considered his sacred animal. This association lent the name Ibis a connotation of intelligence and learning.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Ibis can be traced back to ancient Egyptian texts and hieroglyphic inscriptions, where it was used to refer to individuals associated with religious or scholarly roles. One notable example is the ancient Egyptian sage and architect Imhotep, who lived during the 27th century BCE and was revered for his wisdom and architectural achievements.
Throughout history, the name Ibis has been borne by various notable figures. One example is Ibis of Cyzicus, a Greek historian and philosopher from the 6th century BCE, who wrote extensively on the history and culture of ancient Greece. Another is Ibis of Nysa, a Greek poet and grammarian from the 3rd century BCE, known for his works on the Homeric epics.
In the Middle Ages, the name Ibis was occasionally used in Europe, though it remained relatively rare. One notable bearer was Ibis de Cella, a 12th-century Benedictine monk and chronicler from England, who authored a historical work known as the "Chronicle of St. Albans."
During the Renaissance period, the name Ibis gained some popularity among scholars and intellectuals, drawn to its association with ancient Egyptian wisdom and learning. One notable figure was Ibis Nogarola, an Italian humanist and writer from the 15th century, renowned for her erudition and advocacy for women's education.
In more recent times, the name Ibis has remained uncommon but has been used sporadically across various cultures. One notable bearer was Ibis Gómez-Vega, a Cuban writer, journalist, and activist from the 20th century, known for her works on social justice and feminism.
People
Ibis + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ibis 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
Ibis: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ibis?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 66 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ibis 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 5,193,248 US residents.
Is Ibis a common name?
We classify Ibis as "Very Rare". It ranks above 58.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 69 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ibis most popular?
The single biggest year for Ibis was 2005, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ibis is about 31 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Ibis in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 905 people with the name Ibis, or 0.30 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #13,369 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Ibis in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Ibis?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ibis leans strongly female. 747 people counted with this name were female (82.8%), compared with 155 male bearers (17.2%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Ibis?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ibis is Hispanic at 96.5%. The next largest groups are White (1.5%) and Black (1.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Ibis most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Ibis in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.5% (873 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Ibis in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ibis a female name?
Yes, 82.6% of people registered as Ibis in the SSA data are female. 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 Ibis still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ibis 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 Ibis 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.
How many Americans are named Ibis?
See how many Americans are named Ibis on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.