Ildefonso
An archaic Spanish name of Germanic origin meaning "battle willing".
Name Census estimates that about 330 living Americans carry the first name Ildefonso. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Ildefonso today is around 46 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ildefonso births was 1976 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ildefonso. 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
330
~ 1 in 1,038,650 Americans
Peak year
1976
16 babies that year
Average age
46
years old
2022 SSA rank
#13,067
Tracked since 1917
Popularity
Ildefonso: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ildefonso from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 76 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ildefonso 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 Ildefonso during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ildefonsos live
Origin
Meaning and history of Ildefonso
The name Ildefonso is of Spanish origin, derived from the Germanic elements "ild" meaning "battle" and "funs" meaning "ready" or "eager." It dates back to the 7th century in the Visigothic Kingdom, which ruled parts of the Iberian Peninsula at that time.
The name gained prominence in the early medieval period, particularly in the region of Castile, where it was associated with several notable figures. One of the earliest recorded references is to Saint Ildefonso (607-667), who served as the Archbishop of Toledo and played a significant role in the spread of Christianity in Spain.
In the 12th century, Ildefonso was the name of a renowned Castilian nobleman and military leader, Ildefonso Rodríguez, who fought against the Moors and helped expand the territory of the Kingdom of Castile. Another notable bearer of the name was Ildefonso de Toledo (1508-1567), a Spanish Dominican friar and theologian who made important contributions to the Counter-Reformation.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the name Ildefonso was particularly popular among the Spanish nobility and royalty. One of the most famous figures with this name was Ildefonso de la Cueva (1670-1726), a Spanish diplomat and statesman who served as the Prime Minister of Spain under Philip V.
In the realm of arts and literature, Ildefonso Falcones (born 1959) is a contemporary Spanish novelist best known for his historical novel "The Cathedral of the Sea." Ildefonso Cerdà (1815-1876) was a Spanish urban planner and engineer who designed the modern extension of Barcelona known as the Eixample district.
Throughout its history, the name Ildefonso has maintained a strong association with Spanish culture and heritage, reflecting the influence of the Visigothic and medieval periods on the development of Spanish names and traditions.
People
Ildefonso + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ildefonso 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
Ildefonso: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ildefonso?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 330 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ildefonso 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 1,038,650 US residents.
Is Ildefonso a common name?
We classify Ildefonso as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 392 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ildefonso most popular?
The single biggest year for Ildefonso was 1976, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ildefonso is about 46 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Ildefonso a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ildefonso 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.