Ignacy
A masculine name of Polish origin derived from the Latin name Ignatius meaning "fiery one".
Name Census estimates that about 14 living Americans carry the first name Ignacy. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Ignacy today is around 8 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ignacy births was 2022 (9 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ignacy. 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 Ignacy with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Ignacy. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
14
~ 1 in 24,482,453 Americans
Peak year
2022
9 babies that year
Average age
8
years old
2022 SSA rank
#8,565
Tracked since 2012
Census
Ignacy in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 123 people with the first name Ignacy, which placed it at #49,809 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
#49,809
National first-name rank
People counted
123
123 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
98.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ignacy
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ignacy is White at 98.4%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (1.6%). 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 Ignacy 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 Ignacy at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White98.4% · 121
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.6% · 2
Popularity
Ignacy: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ignacy 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 9 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
Ignacy 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 Ignacy 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 Ignacy
The name Ignacy originated from the Latin name Ignatius, which itself derived from the Roman family name Egnatius. The name Ignatius is believed to have originated from the Latin word "ignis," meaning "fire." This connection to fire likely stems from an ancestor or early bearer of the name who had a fiery personality or temperament.
The name Ignacy gained popularity in Eastern Europe, particularly in Poland, where it became a well-established given name. It was widely used among both nobility and commoners, reflecting its widespread acceptance across social classes.
One of the earliest and most famous bearers of the name Ignacy was St. Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556), the founder of the Jesuit order and a significant figure in the Counter-Reformation. His life and teachings contributed to the popularity of the name among Catholic communities.
Another notable figure was Ignacy Krasicki (1735-1801), a Polish poet, playwright, and Catholic bishop, who was renowned for his satirical and didactic works. His literary contributions helped solidify the name's association with intellectual and artistic pursuits.
Ignacy Jan Paderewski (1860-1941), a Polish pianist, composer, and statesman, was also a prominent bearer of the name. He gained international fame as a virtuoso pianist and later served as the Prime Minister of Poland, further enhancing the name's prestige.
Ignacy Lukasiewicz (1822-1882), a Polish pharmacist and inventor, is credited with constructing the first modern kerosene lamp and establishing the world's first oil refinery. His achievements in the field of petroleum technology contributed to the industrial development of the era.
Ignacy Feliks Dobrzynski (1807-1867), a Polish composer and pianist, was another notable figure who helped popularize the name. His works, which included operas, symphonies, and chamber music, gained widespread recognition and contributed to the cultural legacy associated with the name Ignacy.
These examples illustrate the diverse fields in which individuals named Ignacy have left their mark, including religion, literature, politics, science, and the arts. The name's rich history and association with notable figures have made it a respected and enduring name, particularly in Eastern European cultures.
People
Ignacy + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ignacy 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
Ignacy: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ignacy?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 14 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ignacy 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 24,482,453 US residents.
Is Ignacy a common name?
We classify Ignacy as "Very Rare". It ranks above 34% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 14 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ignacy most popular?
The single biggest year for Ignacy was 2022, when 9 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ignacy is about 8 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Ignacy in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 123 people with the name Ignacy, or 0.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #49,809 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 Ignacy 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 Ignacy?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ignacy appears almost entirely male. Of the 124 people counted with this name, 100.0% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Ignacy?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ignacy is White at 98.4%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (1.6%). 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 Ignacy most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Ignacy in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.4% (121 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 Ignacy in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ignacy a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ignacy 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 Ignacy still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ignacy 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 Ignacy 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 people have Ignacy as a first name?
If you just want to know how many people share the name Ignacy, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.