Ian
For 2025 the count puts Ian at #83 nationwide, neither climbing nor fading. On the books since 1912, peaking in 2005: 257,664 American children so far.
What Ian carries
Ian · Hebrew
“grace of the Lord”
Source: Charlotte M. Yonge, History of Christian Names (1884), see our sources.
Ian’s free Name Kit
Five printables for Ian, drawn in your browser at print size the moment you ask: a name print for the wall, a nursery sign, a tracing sheet, a shortlist sheet, and twelve sibling names with the reason for each. Letter size, 300 dpi, in the site’s own hand.
- Name print Meaning, origin and the popularity curve on one sheet, ready for a frame.
- Nursery sign The name big and bright, for a door, a shelf or the top of a dresser.
- Tracing sheet The name in dotted letters, with room to go over it again and again.
- Shortlist sheet A page for weighing names side by side: initials, nicknames, how it sounds with yours.
- Sibling names sheet Twelve names that go with this one, each with the reason, from the sibling matcher.
Name print
Meaning, origin and the popularity curve on one sheet, ready for a frame.
Nursery sign
The name big and bright, for a door, a shelf or the top of a dresser.
Tracing sheet
The name in dotted letters, with room to go over it again and again.
Shortlist sheet
A page for weighing names side by side: initials, nicknames, how it sounds with yours.
Sibling names sheet
Twelve names that go with this one, each with the reason, from the sibling matcher.
Print on plain letter paper or heavier card; the sign and the print look best on matte stock.
Ian since 1912
Ian peaked in 2005 at #68; #83 in 2025.
United States national data, Social Security Administration, through 2025, how we use it.
Where Ian is most common
By share of a state's recorded boys' names, Ian runs strongest in New Jersey at 0.44% in 2025, then Maryland and New Mexico.
Share of the state's recorded names for that sex, from the Social Security Administration's state file; a name is listed in a state only when five or more babies received it there that year.
Names that sit near Ian
Same shelf of the library: origin, era and shape, scored deterministically.
Leah
#58 in 2025 · Hebrew
Isaiah
#57 in 2025 · Hebrew
Isaac
#47 in 2025 · Hebrew
Juan
#159 in 2025 · Hebrew
Ivan
#163 in 2025 · Hebrew
Isabelle
#166 in 2025 · Hebrew
Isabel
#177 in 2025 · Hebrew
Madeline
#81 in 2025 · Hebrew
Browse: names starting with I · Hebrew names · all names
About Ian
How popular is the name Ian?
For 2025 the count puts Ian at #83 nationwide, neither climbing nor fading. The chart above draws the whole run since 1912, from the Social Security Administration's public data.
What is the recorded meaning of Ian?
“grace of the Lord” is the meaning our source sets down, of Hebrew origin (Charlotte M. Yonge, History of Christian Names (1884)).
Which names sit near Ian?
The recipe puts Leah first, then Isaac, on shared origin, a peak within fifteen years, matching syllables and a shared first letter. Run the sibling matcher with your own names for a list scored against them.
Get Ian’s free Name Kit
Five printables made in your browser: a name print for the wall, a nursery sign, a tracing sheet, a shortlist sheet and twelve sibling names with the reason for each. Yours in a moment, for one email.
Make the kitThe book is in the works
A printed picture book where Ian earns every letter of their own name, page by page. See the preview pages and hear when it is ready.
Preview the book