Surnames starting with I

A Basque surname meaning “the valley” or “the plain by the riverbank,” originally from a place-name.

A Spanish surname meaning “son of Iban,” with Iban being a regional form of John.

A widespread surname and given name from the Arabic form of Abraham, meaning “father of many.”

A rare surname that is probably a shortened or altered form of names from northern Europe, though its exact origin is uncertain.

A Spanish surname meaning “churches,” originally referring to someone who lived near, worked for, or was connected with a church.

A surname derived from the personal name Ignacio, ultimately tied to the Latin name Ignatius, traditionally associated with fire.

A short surname found in several cultures, most often as a Korean family name, but also as a variant spelling in other naming traditions.

A German surname meaning “at the court, farm, or manor yard,” built from a locative phrase with **im** (“in the”) and **Hof** (“court/farmstead”).

A surname from a word meaning “child” or “prince,” originally used as a title for a king’s son in Spanish tradition.

A surname most likely developed as a patronymic form of Ingall or Ingel, ultimately from an old Germanic personal name beginning with Ing-.

An English surname probably meaning “Inger’s hall,” from an old personal name plus a word for a hall or manor house.

A place-based surname from English villages named Ingham, probably meaning a meadow or low-lying homestead associated with an Old English personal name.

A surname that likely began as a Scandinavian personal name, though some bearers may come from place-names built on that name.

An English surname that began as a patronymic from the old personal name Ingram or Ingelram.

A surname of old English and Norse personal-name origin, likely meaning “descendant of Ingram” or “Ingelram.”

An occupational surname meaning “the inn keeper” or “man of the inn.”

A Spanish patronymic surname meaning “son of Iñigo” or “son of Ignatius.”

An Italian surname from the personal name Ippolito, ultimately linked to the Greek name for “horse-loosener” or “horse-releaser.”

A Muslim surname and given name meaning “prosperity,” “good fortune,” or “success.”

A habitational surname from places in Lincolnshire or Cumberland, originally meaning someone from one of several English villages called Irby/Ireby.

A surname for someone from Ireland, the island and country in the northwestern edge of Europe.

A surname or nickname meaning “Irish” or “from Ireland,” often first used to identify someone by origin.

A Puerto Rican surname likely tied to a Basque place-name tradition, with the ending typical of surnames formed from local places or houses.

A surname most likely from a place-name, though some early writers also linked it to the personal name Hieronymus (Jerome).

A surname that usually comes from a place name in southern Scotland, especially Irvine in Ayrshire.

A Scottish locational surname meaning “from Irvine,” originally referring to the Ayrshire parish and river.

A Scottish surname from place names in Dumfriesshire and possibly Ayrshire, originally meaning someone who came from those localities.

A surname with Irish and Scottish roots, usually understood as a variant of Irvine and connected to place names in Ayrshire or Dumfriesshire.

Usually a surname from the medieval biblical given name Isaac, meaning “he laughs,” often the ancestor of forms like Isaacs, Isaacson, Hicks, and Hickes.

A patronymic surname meaning “son of Isaac,” ultimately from the Hebrew biblical name meaning “he laughs.”

Isaacson means “son of Isaac,” a classic patronymic surname built from the biblical given name Isaac.

A surname meaning “son of Isabel,” ultimately from the medieval female given name Isabel/Isabel.

A German surname meaning “iron mountain,” originally a topographic name or a habitational name from a place so called.

A locational surname from Isham in Northamptonshire, England, once meaning a settlement by the River Ise (often written Isis in older sources).

A surname adopted from the religious term Islam, originally meaning “submission” or “surrender” to God in Arabic.

A Spanish surname meaning “islands,” most likely a locational name for someone from or near a group of islands.

A locational surname from a place name in Leicester, originally meaning someone who came from that place.

A widespread Muslim given name and surname from the name of Ishmael, meaning “God will hear.”

A surname that most likely began as a form of Isham, a place-name in Northamptonshire.

Likely a patronymic surname meaning “son of Isan,” probably from a Welsh personal name.

A surname taken from the biblical personal name Israel, originally bestowed on Jacob in the Hebrew Bible.

A surname with several possible origins, including a personal-name source and, in some places, a borrowing from a Latin-based word-form.

A Japanese surname, most famously written 伊藤, meaning “wisteria” in a family-name form that often comes from an old place-name or clan name.

A common Slavic surname meaning “son of Ivan,” with Ivan being the Eastern European form of John.

A patronymic surname meaning “son of Iver” or “son of Ive,” with both English and Scandinavian roots.

An English surname that usually comes from the given name Ive or Ivo, with some lines also linked to saints’ names and place-names such as St. Ives.

A surname that likely began as a pet-form patronymic meaning “son of Ive,” with later overlap with the word for ivy.

A surname usually treated as a pet-form of the given name Ive, with spellings that overlap with Ivy and Ivey.

Usually a surname of Norman local origin, tied to Ivry in Normandy, though some English usage may also reflect the personal name Ivor.

A surname that likely began as a nickname or baptismal form, and may also have been influenced by the evergreen plant name.

A South Indian surname, usually linked to a Brahmin community title in Tamil Nadu.

A Basque surname likely meaning someone from a place marked by willows or a willow grove.

A Spanish surname from a nickname meaning “left-handed” or “on the left side.”

An Italian surname most often linked to a nickname or dialect word, rather than a fixed place-name or occupation.