Are you looking for a comprehensive list of last names beginning with “I”?
We’ve used the 2000 and 2010 U.S. Census to compile 133 surnames that start with the letter I and have at least one thousand bearers of the name.Bit
In the table below, you’ll see the total number of bearers for the name in each census.
Can’t Find A Surname That You Know?
If you don’t find a name that you’re interested in, then use our surname ranking tool which doesn’t have the 1,000 threshold that we’ve imposed on this list.
It will show you where your last name ranks in the U.S. census.
You can learn more in our tutorial on how to check how unusual your last name is.
Meanings Of Popular Last Names Starting With I
Here are the top ten most common last names beginning with I in the 2010 U.S. census.
They are in descending order of how common they are.
| Surname | Bearers | Origins | Meaning |
| Ingram | 69,345 | English, Norman | “Raven” |
| Ibarra | 66,063 | Basque | From places in the Basque region |
| Irwin | 34,297 | Scottish | Variant of Irvin (see later) |
| Inman | 24,222 | English | Keeper of a tavern |
| Ivey | 23,263 | English, Norman | From a town of Ivoy in Normandy |
| Irvin | 21,263 | Scottish | Living by the River Irvine |
| Isaac | 18,903 | Across Europe | “He laughs” |
| Ibrahim | 15,915 | Arabic | “Father of nations” |
| Iverson | 15,539 | Scottish | Variant of Irvin (see above) |
| Isaacs | 14,951 | Across Europe | Variant of Isaac (see above) |
The meanings given above are short summaries. Some names have several meanings depending on the region. We give more details later in this article.
Famous People With I Surnames
Here is a short collection of famous people with a family name starting with I.
| Famous Person | Occupation | Best Known For |
| John Irving | American writer | The World According To Garp |
| Eric Idle | English comedian | Monty Python |
| Imhotep | Ancient Egyptian | Architect of the first Egyptian pyramid |
| Henrik Ibsen | Norwegian playwright | Peer Gynt; Hedda Gabler |
| Billy Idol | English rocker | Rebel Yell; Eyes Without A Face |
| Tokugawa Ieyasu | Japanese governor | Unified Japan |
Last Names Starting With I
Let’s start with names from Iacono to Iles.
Ibarra is the most common name in this section with over sixty-six thousand bearers in the 2010 U.S. census.
Ibarra is a name of Basque origins. Basque people come from a region that spans from the northwest of Spain to the southwest of France.
There are several places within that region with the name. People from those places would take it as a surname.
| Last Name | 2000 Census | 2010 Census |
| Iacono | 1,982 | 1,990 |
| Iannone | 1,498 | 1,501 |
| Iannucci | 1,162 | 1,215 |
| Iannuzzi | 1,323 | 1,297 |
| Ibanez | 6,018 | 8,614 |
| Ibarra | 46,895 | 66,063 |
| Ibrahim | 8,590 | 15,915 |
| Ice | 3,968 | 3,994 |
| Ickes | 2,855 | 2,768 |
| Iddings | 1,093 | 1,091 |
| Ide | 2,848 | 2,784 |
| Iglesias | 7,975 | 10,546 |
| Ignacio | 4,405 | 6,219 |
| Igo | 1,603 | 1,567 |
| Igoe | 1,067 | 1,114 |
| Ihrig | 1,104 | 1,160 |
| Ike | 1,135 | 1,424 |
| Ikeda | 2,595 | 2,675 |
| Iler | 1,782 | 1,830 |
| Iles | 2,776 | 2,944 |
From Iliff to Infante
Infante is the most common name in this section with over eleven thousand bearers in the 2010 census.
This is a Hispanic name. The meaning comes from the Spanish word for a child. This was a title given to the eldest son of a nobleman or king before they inherited the crown.
In other words, they could be fully grown with estates and castles of their own.
The name would also be adopted as a nickname by people working in the estate or castle of the eldest son.
| Last Name | 2000 Census | 2010 Census |
| Iliff | 1,306 | 1,323 |
| Illingworth | 1,007 | 1,130 |
| Im | 3,823 | 4,887 |
| Imai | 1,123 | 1,059 |
| Iman | 1,253 | 1,610 |
| Imel | 1,943 | 1,973 |
| Imes | 2,320 | 2,448 |
| Imhof | 1,163 | 1,234 |
| Imhoff | 3,698 | 3,734 |
| Imler | 2,084 | 2,090 |
| Immel | 2,145 | 2,262 |
| Imperial | 1,353 | 1,576 |
| In | 1,124 | 1,492 |
| Ince | 2,199 | 2,389 |
| Inda | 1,095 | 1,110 |
| Indelicato | 1,171 | 1,191 |
| Ines | 1,041 | 1,276 |
| Infante | 8,467 | 11,102 |
From Ing to Inocencio
Ingram is the most common name in this section with nearly seventy thousand bearers in 2010. The variant of Ingraham also appears here.
The English name was brought to the region by the Normans. The meaning comes from the Old Norse word for a raven (hrafn).
| Last Name | 2000 Census | 2010 Census |
| Ing | 1,617 | 1,814 |
| Ingalls | 6,264 | 6,453 |
| Inge | 2,137 | 2,086 |
| Ingersoll | 6,344 | 6,388 |
| Ingerson | 1,075 | 1,097 |
| Ingham | 3,341 | 3,487 |
| Ingle | 10,169 | 10,497 |
| Ingles | 2,731 | 3,031 |
| Inglis | 2,572 | 2,649 |
| Ingold | 2,012 | 1,978 |
| Ingraham | 6,256 | 6,248 |
| Ingram | 66,665 | 69,345 |
| Ingrassia | 1,478 | 1,506 |
| Iniguez | 6,621 | 8,750 |
| Inlow | 1,064 | 1,075 |
| Inman | 23,460 | 24,222 |
| Innes | 2,735 | 2,893 |
| Innis | 2,050 | 2,018 |
| Inniss | 1,067 | 1,360 |
| Innocent | 1,056 | 1,618 |
| Inocencio | 1,297 | 1,643 |
From Inoue to Irvin
Irwin and Irvin are the most common names in this section.
This name is of Scottish origins. The River Irvine runs through southwest Scotland and there was an ancient settlement of that name on the coast (it’s now a modern town).
The meaning comes from the Scots Gaelic words for fresh water. People who lived by the river or near the settlement would take the name.
| Last Name | 2000 Census | 2010 Census |
| Inoue | 1,385 | 1,391 |
| Inouye | 2,751 | 2,647 |
| Inskeep | 1,668 | 1,759 |
| Insley | 1,469 | 1,461 |
| Interiano | 1,047 | 1,898 |
| Inzunza | 1,224 | 1,928 |
| Iorio | 2,229 | 2,165 |
| Iovino | 1,282 | 1,301 |
| Ip | 1,642 | 2,057 |
| Ipock | 1,147 | 1,173 |
| Ippolito | 4,159 | 4,246 |
| Iqbal | 3,508 | 5,764 |
| Iraheta | 1,922 | 3,182 |
| Irby | 11,040 | 11,506 |
| Ireland | 14,168 | 14,800 |
| Irick | 1,843 | 1,914 |
| Irion | 1,091 | 1,125 |
| Irish | 7,192 | 7,336 |
| Irizarry | 11,538 | 14,114 |
| Irons | 7,145 | 7,358 |
| Irvin | 20,776 | 21,263 |
| Irvine | 9,127 | 9,397 |
| Irving | 13,997 | 14,896 |
| Irwin | 34,374 | 34,297 |
From Isidro to Izzo
Ivey is the most common name in this section with about twenty-three thousand bearers in America in 2010. The shorter variant of Ivy is also on this list.
The English name was brought into the country by the Normans. There was a settlement named Ivoy in Normandy, which is now a town called Ivoy-le-Pré.
| Last Name | 2000 Census | 2010 Census |
| Isidro | 1,213 | 2,127 |
| Islam | 5,967 | 10,670 |
| Islas | 6,033 | 9,200 |
| Isler | 2,014 | 2,280 |
| Isley | 3,621 | 3,754 |
| Ismail | 3,775 | 6,126 |
| Isola | 1,006 | 1,052 |
| Isom | 9,951 | 10,099 |
| Ison | 6,110 | 6,697 |
| Israel | 9,401 | 10,245 |
| Issa | 2,576 | 4,088 |
| Issac | 1,158 | 1,329 |
| Istre | 1,684 | 1,841 |
| Italiano | 1,021 | 1,150 |
| Ito | 4,417 | 4,344 |
| Ivan | 1,465 | 1,439 |
| Ivanov | 2,226 | 3,826 |
| Ivers | 2,122 | 2,205 |
| Iversen | 2,436 | 2,562 |
| Iverson | 15,366 | 15,539 |
| Ivery | 2,070 | 2,457 |
| Ives | 8,053 | 8,233 |
| Ivester | 1,820 | 1,896 |
| Ivey | 22,552 | 23,263 |
| Ivie | 4,255 | 4,411 |
| Ivins | 1,690 | 1,456 |
| Ivory | 6,645 | 7,201 |
| Ivy | 12,760 | 13,524 |
| Iyer | 1,937 | 3,956 |
| Izaguirre | 3,985 | 6,358 |
| Izquierdo | 4,251 | 5,974 |
| Izzo | 4,810 | 4,717 |
