Inspiring "I" Names: The Ignored and the Iridescent (Girls' Edition)

"I." It's one of the most common words in the English language; and yet, one of the most unusual first initials. I names are incredibly rare, but often incredible. A century or so ago, there were more I names in the SSA Top 1000 than there are today--names that fit into the turn-of-the-century's preference for simple and tailored names: Irene, Ida, Iva, Inez. Now, I names are coming into vogue once again, with recent spotlight-stealers like Isla and Ivy, Isabella and India all having been used recently by celebrities. For this blog, I have compiled an index of underused I names that would work well in the United States and other English-speaking regions. Many other languages utilize the letter "I" for the J/ Y sound in English, spawning such variants as Iulia for Julia, Ioanna for Joanna. These names I omitted for the sake of keeping my list to names that are *usually* only spelled with an I. Without further ado, here are the inspired I names:

From a Century Ago:

Irene

Ida

Inez

Irma

Iva

Ina

Iris

Ila

Imogene

Iola

Ione

Isabella

Iona

Ivy

Idella

Ima

Ilene

Ira 

Imelda

Ingrid

Ivory

Icie (can't say I'd recommend this one)

From 2012:

Isabella

Ivy

Isla

Iris

Imani

Itzel

Isis

Irene

Ivanna

Iliana

Ingrid

I found it interesting that Isabella, Ivy, Iris, Irene, and Ingrid all endured 100 years in the SSA Top 1000! And in 2012, there were no less than 6 variants of Isabella/Isabelle in the Top 1000...it's truly an epidemic, people. Also a much more international influence apparent in today's popular I names.

And the other I names worth consideration:

Ilaria

Idony

Ianthe

Iolanthe

Indra

Indira

India

Indigo

Isannah- (this neat historical appellation was the name of one of Paul Revere's daughters and is one of my personal favorites)

Isabeau- character in 80s film, Ladyhawke

Imogen- one of my personal all-time favorites, it's Shakespearean and lovely.

Ibolya

Ibtisam-"smile"

Idonea

Idoya

Idril (this means "sparkle brilliance" in Sindarin, Tolkien's made-up language...the nerd in me loves it)

Idriya

Ismene

Igraine

Isolde

Ilithyia

Ilsa (of Casablanca fame)

Immaculata (yes, it's a mouthful, but I also think it would be cool with a super-short first name, like Tess...Tess Immaculata )

Io

Irena

Iphigenia

Isadora

Isaura

Iskra

Isotta

Isra

Idina (familiar today mostly through Idina Menzel)

Ixchel (means "rainbow lady" in Mayan, which is awesome)

Inara (what kind of self-respecting geek would I be if I left out one of Firefly's central characters?)

What are your favorite I-names?