Island

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 14 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Island is also recorded as 3 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Spanish name870 records spelled Island4 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Nicaragua, Mexico, Peru, Colombia

  Also written Islāńd, Išlañd, Isländ

• Icelandic name368 records spelled Island15 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Iceland, Norway, Åland Islands, Switzerland

  Languages: Icelandic, Norwegian, German

  Also written Iceland, Ísland, Ijsland

• French name285 records spelled Island2 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Gabon, France, Canada

  Also written Îslànd

43 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Island is also recorded in 4 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In English, A contiguous area of land, smaller than a continent, totally surrounded by water.

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In German, Iceland

  as a word·A Frequency Dictionary of German

• In enm, alternative form of Iseland: Iceland (an island and country in the North Atlantic Ocean in Europe)

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In Breton, Iceland (an island and country in the North Atlantic Ocean in Europe)

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 27 years between 1998–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Ole Islandb. 1833NONorwegian politician
• Donna Coney Islandb. 1961USAmerican actress
• Island AllmanUSdaughter of Gregg Allman

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 70 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Island?

Our records include 9,728,404 bearers of Island across 5 countries — a sample of the full distribution.

In which country does Island have the most bearers?

Island is most frequently recorded in the United States, where it is most often spelled island.

What does the name Island mean?

Recorded meaning: habitational name from any of four farmsteads so named.