Inga
A Germanic name meaning "guarded by Ing", the old fire and harvest god. Given only to girls, it climbed through the 2010s but is fading now: fewer newborns each of the last few years, and meeting one still feels memorable.
Inga Pronunciation
Inga is pronounced EEN-gah (/ˈinga/).
What Inga means
Where Inga comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Inga grew out of Germanic soil. The name draws on Ing, an old Germanic god also called Yngvi, whose name attached itself to tribes and to a whole line of personal names. Ingrid, Ingeborg and Ingmar all begin with the same element. Inga is the compact, standalone form.
The short meaning given to it, "guarded by Ing", reads the old god as a protector. In Polish that comes across as należąca do Inga, belonging to Ing. That sense was drawn out later, once the god had faded from daily belief and only the sound remained.
In Poland the name arrives with a lighter, Northern feel. Its variant Inka shows up as a nickname and sometimes on its own. You might find both an Inga and an Inka on the same class register, the shorter one earning a smile at roll call.
Inga is brief. Two syllables, no ornament. What holds it together is that first element, Ing, the same one that opens Ingrid and means, in the reading passed down, guarded by Ing.
How many people are named Inga
1 in 2783 women in Poland is named Inga. 8,101 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #397 among female names.
Inga's popularity over time
72 girls were given the name in 2025, ranking #285 among newborns. It has been climbing since 2001.
Where Inga is most popular
Inga is most popular in Greater Poland, 45% above the national average (156 girls born 2019–2025), followed by Kuyavian-Pomeranian (+42%) and Pomeranian (+19%). It is least common in Warmian-Masurian and Subcarpathian, 42% and 25% below average respectively.
-
Greater Poland156 girls born+45%
-
Kuyavian-Pomeranian78 girls born+42%
-
Pomeranian88 girls born+19%
-
Łódź74 girls born+17%
-
Silesian120 girls born+5%
-
West Pomeranian43 girls born+2%
-
Lubusz25 girls born+1%
-
Lower Silesian77 girls born−2%
-
Lublin48 girls born−7%
-
Lesser Poland105 girls born−8%
-
Podlaskie27 girls born−18%
-
Świętokrzyskie22 girls born−21%
-
Opole18 girls born−22%
-
Masovian135 girls born−24%
-
Subcarpathian45 girls born−25%
-
Warmian-Masurian21 girls born−42%
Inga as a middle name
Inga is a first name for 8,101 women in Poland and a middle name for another 2,111, a 79/21 split. In the women's middle-name ranking it sits 189th, between Natasza (2,321) and Zenobia (2,065).
-
187
2,331Sławomira
-
188
2,321Natasza
-
1892,111Inga
-
190
2,065Zenobia
-
191
2,036Amanda
When Inga celebrates name day
Inga appears 1 time in the Polish name day calendar. The main date is 25 October.