Ignatius

Origin

From Latin Ignātius, variant of gens name Egnātius, altered to resemble ignis (“fire”), establishing a folk etymology meaning akin to “Fiery One”. Of uncertain origin, perhaps originally borrowed from Etruscan. It might be related to Ancient Greek ἴγνης (ígnēs, “indigene”), ἴγνητος (ígnētos), from *ἔν-γνη-τες (*én-gnē-tes), formed from έν (én) + Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- (“to give birth, produce”), also seen in γίγνομαι (gígnomai, “to come into being”).