Nameling

Ian

Gender
Boy
Say it
EE-an
Origin
Hebrew
UK rank, 2025
#589 for boys
US rank, 2025
#83 for boys

Ian is a boys' name of Hebrew origin, meaning “God is gracious”. In 2025 it ranked 589th for boys in the UK (72 babies) and 83rd for boys in the US (3,924 babies).

What does Ian mean?

Hebrew: Scottish form of John, from Gaelic Iain

“God is gracious”

Ian Fleming, creator of James Bond, is a well-known bearer.

More on Wiktionary.

Is Ian a girl's or a boy's name?

Ian is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 72 boys in the UK and 8 girls and 3,924 boys in the US.

How popular is Ian in the UK?

Rank in 2025
#589among boys
Babies in 2025
72about 1 in 4,200 boys
Five-year trend
Steadyup 5% in five years
Same name in a class
under 1%chance among 15 boys

In 2025, 72 boys in the UK were named Ian, making it the 589th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 585th. Its busiest year was 1996, with 338 boys.

2025 had fewer boys named Ian than any year since 2020.

Half of all the boys named Ian in the UK since 1996 were born between 1999 and 2014. It was already well used in 1996, when the records begin, so earlier boys aren't counted.

In 2025, 75 boys in the UK were given Ian or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #526, up from #589 for this spelling alone.

Among boys in 2025, it was 585th in England and Wales and 495th in Scotland.

In the England and Wales top 100 for boys, which the ONS has published every ten years since 1904: 1924 (#85), 1934 (#55), 1944 (#23), 1954 (#13), 1964 (#8), 1974 (#21) and 1984 (#27).

1996Busiest: 338 in 19962025
Ian in the UK, year by year
YearBoysRank
202572#589
202476#564
202382#537
202274#573
202179#548
202070#585
201973#571
201877#559
201770#608
201683#536
201597#466
2014101#450
201371#560
201283#511
201192#459
2010104#416
200994#441
2008129#342
2007134#320
2006111#348
2005117#304
2004137#268
2003142#248
2002160#225
2001154#227
2000166#215
1999231#168
1998289#148
1997306#143
1996338#134

How popular is Ian in the US?

Rank in 2025
#83among boys
Babies in 2025
3,924about 1 in 440 boys
Five-year trend
Steadydown 4% in five years
Same name in a class
3.2%chance among 15 boys

In 2025, 3,924 boys in the US were named Ian, making it the 83rd most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 83rd. Its busiest year was 2005, with 6,688 boys. It first appears in the records in 1912. 8 girls were also named Ian in 2025 (10,913th for girls).

2025 had fewer boys named Ian than any year since 1987.

Half of all the boys named Ian in the US since 1880 were born between 1990 and 2012, the years shaded on the chart below.

1912Busiest: 6,688 in 20052025
Ian in the US, year by year
YearBoysRank
20253,924#83
20244,560#74
20234,555#69
20224,505#72
20214,302#81
20204,267#83
20194,551#81
20184,706#79
20175,033#76
20165,079#78
20155,332#76
20145,461#77
20135,434#80
20125,696#78
20115,620#72
20105,563#72
20095,807#73
20085,723#80
20076,250#75
20066,154#80
20056,688#68
20046,507#69
20036,466#65
20026,360#67
20016,084#70
20005,886#73
19995,450#72
19985,353#73
19975,211#70
19965,411#70
19955,594#67
19945,267#74
19935,399#70
19925,536#68
19915,326#73
19905,460#70
19894,948#68
19884,315#77
19873,924#81
19863,713#85
19853,998#78
19843,796#78
19833,665#77
19823,574#83
19812,928#101
19802,909#104
19792,554#107
19782,172#117
19772,287#119
19761,936#135
19751,717#144
19741,653#148
19731,302#180
19721,248#189
19711,201#202
19701,116#222
1969828#253
1968716#276
1967771#260
1966620#297
1965488#345
1964429#383
1963360#423
1962281#473
1961242#510
1960242#510
1959208#542
1958205#536
1957213#530
1956194#538
1955175#554
1954171#557
1953157#568
1952120#639
1951104#681
1950123#620
1949102#677
194887#716
1947111#656
194685#704
194564#767
194468#754
194364#824
194280#718
194162#798
194056#841
193961#776
193849#897
193750#869
193644#924
193545#940
193441#1,007
193327#1,281
193240#1,056
193143#1,015
193045#1,021
192931#1,272
192840#1,111
192727#1,436
192624#1,515
192519#1,805
192428#1,414
192322#1,643
19229#3,013
192115#2,151
192010#2,764
19199#2,876
191811#2,542
191719#1,692
191615#1,948
191515#1,877
191410#2,100
19137#2,272
19126#2,268

Names like Ian

Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.

Ryan Brian Kevin Declan Aaron Nathan Kian Conan Ronan Rian Dylan Ethan

Other spellings of Ian

Eyan Ean Eian Iann Eon Aeon Iyan Eion

Names related to Ian

Ioan Iwan Iain Ihan Yian Ioane

More Hebrew names

Noah Isabella Elijah James Jack Mia Ava Jude Ezra Benjamin Isaac Jacob Daniel Samuel Elias Mateo

Every Hebrew name

Sources

Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.

To cite this page: Nameling, “Ian: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/ian, updated 20 October 2026.