Idy
An Indonesian feminine name meaning "beloved" or "cherished".
Name Census estimates that about 522 living Americans carry the first name Idy. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Idy today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Idy births was 2021 (48 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Idy. 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.
People living today
522
~ 1 in 656,618 Americans
Peak year
2021
48 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,337
Tracked since 1979
Census
Idy in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 417 people with the first name Idy, which placed it at #23,447 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
#23,447
National first-name rank
People counted
417
417 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
80.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Idy
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Idy is White at 80.1%. The next largest groups are Black (7.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (7.2%). 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 Idy 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 Idy at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.1% · 334
- Black or African American7.7% · 32
- Asian and Pacific Islander7.2% · 30
- Hispanic or Latino4.1% · 17
- Two or more races1.0% · 4
Popularity
Idy: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Idy from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 204 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Idy 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 Idy during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Idys live
Origin
Meaning and history of Idy
The name Idy has its roots in the Greek language and can be traced back to ancient times. It is derived from the Greek word "idios," meaning "one's own" or "personal." The name was often used to signify individuality, uniqueness, or a distinct personal identity.
In ancient Greek mythology, there are references to a minor goddess named Idyia, who was associated with nature and fertility. While not a widely known figure, her name may have influenced the later use of Idy as a personal name.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Idy appears in the works of the ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes, who lived in the 5th century BCE. In his comedic play "The Birds," there is a character named Idykos, which could be a diminutive form of Idy.
During the Byzantine period, the name Idy gained popularity among Greek Christians. It was sometimes given to children as a way to express their unique and special nature in the eyes of God. Records from this era show several individuals bearing the name, though they were not particularly famous or noteworthy.
In the 12th century, there was a renowned Byzantine scholar and philosopher named Idyomenos Batatzis, who hailed from the city of Constantinople. He was known for his extensive writings on logic and metaphysics, and his name, which can be translated as "the unique one," likely derived from the root Idy.
Fast forwarding to the 19th century, Idy Gáspár was a Hungarian poet and writer who lived from 1856 to 1923. He was a prominent figure in the literary circles of his time and contributed significantly to the development of Hungarian literature.
Another notable individual with the name Idy was Idy Josephine Sour-Tohmé, a Lebanese writer and feminist activist who lived from 1887 to 1940. She was a pioneer in advocating for women's rights and education in the Middle East and published several works on these topics.
In the 20th century, Idy Chan was a Hong Kong-based actress and singer who gained popularity in the 1960s and 1970s. She appeared in numerous films and television shows, showcasing her talents as a versatile performer.
While not an exhaustive list, these examples illustrate the rich history and diverse cultural backgrounds associated with the name Idy throughout the centuries. From ancient Greek roots to modern-day personalities, the name has carried a sense of uniqueness and individuality, reflecting its etymological origins.
People
Idy + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Idy 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
Idy: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Idy?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 522 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Idy 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 656,618 US residents.
Is Idy a common name?
We classify Idy as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 528 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Idy most popular?
The single biggest year for Idy was 2021, when 48 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Idy is about 12 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Idy in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 417 people with the name Idy, or 0.14 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #23,447 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 Idy 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 Idy?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Idy leans strongly female. 400 people counted with this name were female (95.2%), compared with 20 male bearers (4.8%). 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 Idy?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Idy is White at 80.1%. The next largest groups are Black (7.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (7.2%). 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 Idy most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Idy in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.1% (334 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 Idy in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Idy a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Idy 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 Idy still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Idy 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 Idy 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 Idy?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.