Given name & surname
Inge
“ing's wolf”·“protected by the god Ing”·“having the beauty of the god Ing”
In German use, Inge is a diminutive of Ingolf. One interpretation is “ing's wolf.” In German and Danish use, Inge is a short form of Ingeborg. One Scandinavian interpretation is “protected by the god Ing.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
In German use, Inge is a diminutive of Ingolf. One interpretation is “ing's wolf.” In German and Danish use, Inge is a short form of Ingeborg. One Scandinavian interpretation is “protected by the god Ing.” In German use, Inge is a diminutive of Ingrid. One Scandinavian interpretation is “having the beauty of the god Ing.” In Swedish use, Inge is a short form of Ingvar. One Scandinavian interpretation is “a soldier of Ing's army.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Danish.
How it developed
In German usage, Inge is a diminutive of Ingrid. In Estonian usage, Inge is a short form of Ingrid.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1924. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. In German use, Inge is a diminutive of Ing. The history of Ing gives this family its wider story. In mythological stories, Ing is associated with the god of fertility.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Inge through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 717
- 0 boys · 717 girls
- Most popular year
- 1967
- 30 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for girls is 5 in 2021. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for girls was 30 in 1967. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 3,300 as a first name in 2020; 2,009 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Inge’s family of names
In German usage, Inge is a diminutive of Ingrid. In Swedish usage, Inge has a feminine form in Ing. In German usage, Inge has a related form in Inga.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Inge has relatives in 11 languages. Lines run from its Danish roots to each of them.
14 related names in 11 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 11
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Ingridfull form · German, Estonian
- Ingavariant · German, Polish
- Ingridafull form · Slovak
- Ingolffull form · German
- Ingofull form · German
- Ingeborgfull form · German
- Ingdiminutive · gmw-ecg, German
- Oldfull form
Show 3 moreShow fewer
Across languages 13
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- Ingerequivalent
- Ingveequivalent
- Ingelaequivalent
- Ingevaldequivalent
- Yngvedoublet
- Ingelequivalent
- Ингаequivalent
- Ingegerdequivalent
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See also 1
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Inge
- Inge LehmannDanish seismologist who discovered the Earth's inner core (1888-1993)
- Inge the ElderKing Of Sweden1060–1105
- Inge HaraldssonNorwegian King1135–1161
- Inge de BruijnDutch swimmer, Olympic gold medalist, world champion, former world record-holderborn 1973
- Inge BårdssonKing of Norway1185–1217
- Inge the YoungerKing of Sweden1074–1125
- Inge DekkerDutch swimmerborn 1985
- Inge SørensenDanish swimmer1924–2011
- Inge MorathAustrian photographer (1923-2002)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
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