# Ian (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/ian/  
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 | /ˈiː.ən/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | Iain |
| US babies named this | 258,479 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 257,664 / 815 (0% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 2,871, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

Borrowed from Scottish Gaelic Eòin.

## 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, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 5 | 18,352 |
| 2011 | 14 | 8,353 |
| 2012 | 9 | 11,627 |
| 2014 | 6 | 15,324 |
| 2015 | 13 | 8,638 |
| 2016 | 9 | 11,207 |
| 2017 | 10 | 10,242 |
| 2018 | 6 | 14,491 |
| 2019 | 7 | 12,966 |
| 2020 | 12 | 8,608 |
| 2021 | 7 | 12,700 |
| 2022 | 8 | 11,604 |
| 2023 | 10 | 9,874 |
| 2024 | 8 | 11,494 |
| 2025 | 8 | 11,297 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 5,620 | 72 |
| 2012 | 5,696 | 78 |
| 2013 | 5,434 | 80 |
| 2014 | 5,461 | 77 |
| 2015 | 5,332 | 76 |
| 2016 | 5,079 | 78 |
| 2017 | 5,033 | 76 |
| 2018 | 4,706 | 79 |
| 2019 | 4,551 | 81 |
| 2020 | 4,267 | 83 |
| 2021 | 4,302 | 81 |
| 2022 | 4,505 | 72 |
| 2023 | 4,555 | 69 |
| 2024 | 4,560 | 75 |
| 2025 | 3,924 | 83 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 73 | 495 |
| 2012 | 71 | 522 |
| 2013 | 58 | 596 |
| 2014 | 80 | 489 |
| 2015 | 79 | 493 |
| 2016 | 66 | 565 |
| 2017 | 59 | 613 |
| 2018 | 62 | 590 |
| 2019 | 57 | 628 |
| 2020 | 60 | 598 |
| 2021 | 70 | 551 |
| 2022 | 62 | 600 |
| 2023 | 67 | 561 |
| 2024 | 72 | 535 |
| 2025 | 66 | 585 |

## In other languages

- Arabic: إيان
- Chinese: 伊恩
- Finnish: Ian, Juha, Juho
- Greek: Ίαν
- Japanese: イアン
- Korean: 이언
- Latvian: Jans
- Russian: Ян, Иэн
- Spanish: Iván, Juan

## People named Ian

- Ian Fleming, British author (1908–1964)
- Ian McKellen, British actor (born 1939)
- Ian McShane, English actor (born 1942)
- Ian Somerhalder, American actor (born 1978)
- Ian McEwan, British author (born 1948)
- Ian Holm, British actor (1931–2020)
- Ian Thorpe, Australian swimmer
- Seretse Khama Ian Khama, Botswana politician
- Ian Gillan, English singer
- Ian Curtis, British musician (1956–1980)
- Ian Wright, English footballer and commentator (born 1963)
- Ian Murdock, American computer scientist, open source developer, entrepreneur (1973-2015)

## 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.