The Ibo language, also spelled Igbo, is the native language of the Igbo people living in southeastern Nigeria. With approximately 20 million speakers mostly living in Nigeria, Igbo is a national language of the country. Igbo, or Ibo, is written using the Latin alphabet, introduced by early British colonialists. Igbo has over 20 dialects and a standard literary language was developed in 1972 based on the Owerri and Umuahia dialects for ease of writing and communicating. Things Fall Apart is a well-known novel written by Nigerian Chinua Achebe in the Igbo language, published in 1958, depicting British colonialism and Christian missionaries’ influence on the Igbo people during the 19th and 20th centuries. Visit Baby Name World’s Ibo, African and Bantu categories to browse our baby names and name meanings.