# Iain (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/iain/  
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 | not recorded |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | Ian |
| US babies named this | 2,911 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 2,911 / 0 (0% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 517, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From Scottish Gaelic. Cognate of John; see there for more.

## 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 69 | 1,991 |
| 2012 | 69 | 2,020 |
| 2013 | 48 | 2,545 |
| 2014 | 59 | 2,261 |
| 2015 | 50 | 2,501 |
| 2016 | 44 | 2,740 |
| 2017 | 35 | 3,269 |
| 2018 | 38 | 3,067 |
| 2019 | 43 | 2,873 |
| 2020 | 45 | 2,740 |
| 2021 | 23 | 4,420 |
| 2022 | 27 | 4,029 |
| 2023 | 24 | 4,387 |
| 2024 | 25 | 4,244 |
| 2025 | 11 | 7,357 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 9 | 1,892 |
| 2007 | 10 | 1,885 |
| 2008 | 10 | 1,953 |
| 2009 | 9 | 2,126 |
| 2010 | 5 | 3,332 |
| 2011 | 5 | 3,300 |
| 2012 | 4 | 3,987 |
| 2013 | 8 | 2,403 |
| 2014 | 7 | 2,690 |
| 2015 | 7 | 2,707 |
| 2016 | 6 | 3,079 |
| 2017 | 6 | 3,040 |
| 2018 | 3 | 4,749 |
| 2019 | 3 | 4,702 |
| 2021 | 4 | 3,990 |

## People named Iain

- Iain Armitage, American actor
- Iain Duncan Smith, British politician
- Iain Macleod, British politician, cabinet minister and contract bridge player (1913-1970)
- Iain Percy, British sailor
- Iain Pears, British writer and art historian
- Iain Hume, Canadian soccer player
- Iain Softley, British film director
- Iain Canning, British film producer
- Iain Brambell, Canadian rower
- Iain Dowie, English football manager (born 1965)
- Iain Ramsay, Australian association football player
- Iain Stewart, British politician (born 1972)

## 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.