After reading something about ibises recently, I wondered: Has “ibis” — which is a lot like both the flower-inspired name Iris and the goddess-inspired name Isis — ever been used as a baby name?
Turns out it has! Not very often, though. The name Ibis has appeared in the SSA data on and off since the 1960s, typically registering as a girl name. I don’t think many of these babies were named with the bird in mind, though; “Ibis” seems to be a variant spelling of “Ivis” in Spanish-speaking families.
So, which of these four (very similar) names names do you like best? Why?
- Ibis
- Iris
- Isis
- Iris
I like Ivis. I’ve never heard of it before. It is a sweet unique name.
I have an Aunt Iris, who was born to an Aunt Gloria (Glory as in Morning Glory). Aunt Glory wanted Iris to name any daughters after a flower, but Iris never had kids.
I like Ivy as well. Could spell Ivis, Ivys for a boy?
I’m also thinking of the various Germanic languages pronouncing the name EE-vee-s, ee-VEEs, eee-VEEES.
That was how I pronounced it in my head, not EYE-viss. Then I realized EYE-biss, EYE-viss, yeah that way.
It’s also 4:30 am and I woke up to have some chamomile tea and go back to bed.
I’d never heard of Ivis before either. I tried to figure out the derivation, but I couldn’t find anything conclusive.