Ian

Primarily a boy's name · 100% boys

Meaning

Ian or Iain is a male name of Scottish Gaelic origin, which is derived from the Hebrew given name יוֹחָנָן‎ and corresponds to the English name John. The spelling Ian is an Anglicization of the Scottish Gaelic forename Iain.

From Wikipedia

Ian first appears in the data in 1996 and has been recorded in 21 different years as a boy's name. Its single biggest year was 1996 with 253 babies (rank #139 that year). It was not in the 2024 data. The name has been declining over the last five years.

Numerology of Ian

In Pythagorean numerology, every letter has a value from 1 to 9. Adding the letters of Ian yields these three numbers — a playful read on the name's character.

6Destiny numberThe carerNurturing, responsible, family at the centre.Sum of every letter. The overall character a name carries.
1Soul urgeThe leaderIndependent, pioneering, drawn to going first.Sum of the vowels — what's said to drive the heart.
5PersonalityThe free spiritCurious, restless, energised by change.Sum of the consonants — the outer impression.

2,296

Total babies (all years)

Years in the data

253

Peak in a single year

Popularity Over Time — Boys

Also a character in

In Outlander: Young Ian Murray — Jamie's nephew

Famous people named Ian

Ian Flemingprose writer · b. 1908
Ian McKellenfilm actor · b. 1939
Ian McShanefilm producer · b. 1942
Ian Somerhalderfilm actor · b. 1978
Ian McEwanfilm screenwriter · b. 1948

More popular boys' names

Other boys' names starting with I

Year-by-Year Detail

Rank is among all boys' names registered that year.

Year	Babies	Rank
1996	253	#139
1997	222	#156
1998	212	#160
1999	159	#202
2000	117	#247
2001	96	#285
2002	118	#248
2003	91	#311
2004	97	#310
2005	78	#389
2006	85	#401
2007	106	#346
2008	89	#421
2009	61	#556
2010	85	#447
2011	73	#497
2012	71	#525
2013	58	#598
2014	80	#490
2015	79	#493
2016	66	#566