Explore the Family Name Igwe

The meaning of Igwe

West African (Nigeria): 1. Igbo name, from the name of the traditional Igbo god of the sky. 2. Igbo name, from a short form of a personal name such as Igwebuike, which is interpreted as ‘many is powerful’. 3. from the Igbo personal name Igwe, meaning ‘iron’.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Igwe in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname Igwe has seen a surge in popularity. In 2000, it was ranked 59,147 nationally but by 2010, it had climbed to 36,736 - an impressive leap of nearly 38%. Alongside this rise in rank, the count of individuals with the Igwe surname also increased significantly from 320 to 608, a notable growth of 90%. The proportion of people with the Igwe surname per 100,000 also rose by 75%, from 0.12 to 0.21 during this decade.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#59,147	#36,736	37.89%
Count	320	608	90%
Proportion per 100k	0.12	0.21	75%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Igwe

As for ethnicity, according to data drawn from the Decennial U.S. Census, the largest ethnic identity associated with the surname Igwe is Black, which showed an increase from 85.63% in 2000 to 93.91% in 2010. Other ethnic identities experienced a decrease in the same period. Those identifying as two or more races dropped by 47.40%, from 5.00% to 2.63%. Similarly, those identifying as White fell from 4.38% to 1.64%, a decrease of 62.56%. Hispanic representation also declined by 59.61%, from 4.06% to 1.64%. There were no individuals who identified as Asian/Pacific Islander or American Indian and Alaskan Native in both census periods.

	2000	2010	Change
Black	85.63%	93.91%	9.67%
Two or More Races	5%	2.63%	-47.4%
White	4.38%	1.64%	-62.56%
Hispanic	4.06%	1.64%	-59.61%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%