Iggy
A diminutive form of the name Ignatius, derived from Latin meaning "fiery one".
Name Census estimates that about 69 living Americans carry the first name Iggy. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Iggy today is around 5 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Iggy births was 2023 (12 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Iggy. 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 Iggy. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
69
~ 1 in 4,967,454 Americans
Peak year
2023
12 babies that year
Average age
5
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,938
Tracked since 2012
Popularity
Iggy: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Iggy from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 51 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
Iggy 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 Iggy during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Iggy
The name Iggy is a diminutive form of the name Ignatius, which has its origins in the Latin name Ignatius. Ignatius was derived from the Roman family name Egnatius, which itself is believed to have come from the word "ignis," meaning "fire" in Latin. The name Ignatius was particularly popular among early Christians, as it was the name of one of the early Christian martyrs, St. Ignatius of Antioch, who lived in the late 1st and early 2nd centuries AD.
The name Ignatius gained widespread popularity in Europe during the Middle Ages, particularly in areas with strong Catholic traditions. It was common among members of religious orders, such as the Jesuits, who were founded by St. Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556), a Spanish priest and theologian. The diminutive form "Iggy" likely emerged as a nickname or pet name for Ignatius during this period.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Iggy can be found in the works of the 16th-century English playwright William Shakespeare. In his play "The Two Gentlemen of Verona," Shakespeare includes a character named Iggy, or Ignico, who is a servant to one of the main characters. This suggests that the name Iggy was already in use as a diminutive form of Ignatius in England by the late 16th century.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Iggy. One of the most famous is Iggy Pop (born James Newell Osterberg Jr. in 1947), the American singer-songwriter and musician best known for his work with the proto-punk band The Stooges. Other well-known figures with the name Iggy include Iggy Azalea (born Amethyst Amelia Kelly in 1990), the Australian rapper and songwriter, and Iggy Kowalski (born Ignacy Kowalski in 1889), a Polish-American professional boxer and actor in the early 20th century.
Additionally, the name Iggy has been associated with fictional characters, such as Iggy Koopa, one of the recurring antagonists in the Super Mario video game series, and Iggy Wolfington, a character from the American animated series Krypto the Superdog. These examples demonstrate the enduring popularity and recognition of the name Iggy across various forms of media and entertainment.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Iggy
People
Iggy + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Iggy 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
Iggy: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Iggy?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 69 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Iggy 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 4,967,454 US residents.
Is Iggy a common name?
We classify Iggy as "Very Rare". It ranks above 59.1% 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 Iggy most popular?
The single biggest year for Iggy was 2023, when 12 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Iggy is about 5 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Iggy a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Iggy 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.
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.