Given name & surname

Ib

“of the pledge”

Ib is used as a given name and a surname. One Danish interpretation is “of the pledge.”

Meaning & origin

What it means

One Danish interpretation is “of the pledge.”

Where it comes from

An origin associated with this spelling is Danish.

How it developed

In Danish use, Ib has a related form in Jacob. The shared background comes through Jacob: The link with Hebrew akev, “heel,” comes from Genesis 25:26: Jacob is born holding his older twin Esau’s heel. In Genesis 27:36, Esau connects the name with being supplanted after Jacob gains his birthright and their father’s blessing. These episodes explain the traditional meanings; they do not settle how the name first arose.

Explained through its name family

The story

In Danish use, Ib has a related form in Jacob. The history of Jacob gives this family its wider story. In Genesis, Jacob is the son of Isaac and Rebecca and the father of twelve sons associated with the twelve tribes of Israel. His name has a long history in Jewish and Christian communities. The related name James developed through a different Late Latin form, Iacomus, eventually becoming distinct from Jacob in English.

Explained through its name family

Ib’s family of names

Ib has a surname derivative in IBSEN. In Danish usage, Ib has a related form in Jacob. Ib has a related form in Isabel.

Walk Ib’s family in the name graph

IbJacobIsabelIbbIbsen

Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.

Hover or tab through the constellation to see how each name is related. Bigger dots are names more people in the U.S. share.

Nicknames & forms 3

Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.

Across languages 1

Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.

Similar names

If you love Ib, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.

Biblical Hebrew · Biblical

Akseli

“father of peace”

No U.S. birth series

>99% boys

Scandinavian · Biblical

Jens

“God is gracious”

21RareSteady

>99% boys

Hebrew · Biblical

Ibsam

“he will smell sweetly” · “perfumer”

No U.S. birth series

>99% boys

Hebrew · Biblical

Imla

“he will utter” · “he will full”

No U.S. birth series

75% boys · 25% girls

Hebrew · Biblical

Ithran

“excellent” · “abundance”

No U.S. birth series

>99% boys

Biblical Hebrew · Biblical

Isang

“my God is bountiful”

No U.S. birth series

88% boys · 12% girls

Biblical Hebrew · Biblical

İlyas

İlyas is a masculine given name from Arabic, ultimately from Biblical Hebrew. It is used in Turkish and Azerbaijani.

No U.S. birth series

>99% boys

Sibling ideas

Names that share Ib’s feel without repeating its first letter or rhyming with it.

A brother for Ib