# Arran (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/arran/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | Scottish Gaelic |
| Meaning | “high place” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈæɹən/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | Aran |
| US babies named this | 284 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 284 / 0 (0% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 2,122, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

Derived from Scottish Gaelic Arainn, but the name is ultimately probably of non-Indo-European (substrate) or Pictish origin, along with other uncertain names in Scotland such as Skye, Lewis, and Islay. Possibly from a Brythonic/Pictish term ancestral or cognate to Middle Welsh aran (“"high place"”).

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 15 | 5,791 |
| 2009 | 10 | 7,732 |
| 2010 | 7 | 9,766 |
| 2011 | 9 | 8,130 |
| 2012 | 9 | 8,209 |
| 2013 | 11 | 7,061 |
| 2014 | 11 | 7,101 |
| 2016 | 8 | 8,899 |
| 2017 | 8 | 8,903 |
| 2018 | 13 | 6,374 |
| 2019 | 7 | 9,837 |
| 2021 | 7 | 9,798 |
| 2022 | 5 | 12,509 |
| 2023 | 6 | 10,935 |
| 2025 | 5 | 12,184 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 68 | 516 |
| 2012 | 56 | 625 |
| 2013 | 42 | 762 |
| 2014 | 43 | 744 |
| 2015 | 42 | 765 |
| 2016 | 32 | 928 |
| 2017 | 46 | 743 |
| 2018 | 31 | 932 |
| 2019 | 38 | 813 |
| 2020 | 29 | 962 |
| 2021 | 30 | 985 |
| 2022 | 17 | 1,469 |
| 2023 | 30 | 987 |
| 2024 | 29 | 1,025 |
| 2025 | 23 | 1,226 |

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.