Ian

Spellings & scripts●

Locally spelled יאן in PL Poland, Iain in FR France, ג'ן in IL Israel and 이안 in KR South Korea.

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records; ○ marks a model's transliteration. Click a spelling to open its page.

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 18 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Ian is also recorded as 3 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Indonesian given name29K records spelled Ian5 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Indonesia, Philippines, United States, Malaysia

  Languages: Indonesian, Malay

  Also written 'Ian, Íāņ, Îãñ

• a separate given name26K records spelled Ian5 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, United Kingdom, Canada, India

  Also written I-An, Ián, I︠A︡n, Iań

• a separate given name1.8K records spelled Ian18 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Norway

  Also written Iån, Ìån, Ìan, Ïåñ, Îän

70 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Ian is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In English, A male given name from Scottish Gaelic Eòin, equivalent to English John.

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In Italian, forma popular e coloquial; redução de Ianni

  as a name·Dicionário dos sobrenomes italianos

• In Swedish, Ian är en skotsk variant av det engelska → John (→ Johannes). En känd namnbärare är den brittiske skådespelaren Ian McKellen (f. 1939). I den finlandssvenska almanackan 24 juni.

  as a name·Förnamn i Sverige. Kortfattat namnlexikon

• In English, African king who loved Queen Dido

  as a name·Pronouncing Dictionary of Proper Names

• In English, Prometheus; satellite of Saturn

  as a name·Pronouncing Dictionary of Proper Names

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

NZ DIA — Baby name popularity (1900–present) — 123 years between 1900–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Ian Flemingb. 1908GBBritish author (1908–1964)
• Ian Bannenb. 1928GBScottish actor (1928–1999)
• Ian McKellenb. 1939GBBritish actor (born 1939)
• Ian Wilmutb. 1944GBBritish embryologist (1944–2023)
• Ian McEwanb. 1948GBBritish author (born 1948)
• Ian Charlesonb. 1949GBScottish actor (1949-1990)
• Ian Khamab. 1953BWBotswana politician
• Ian Somerhalderb. 1978USAmerican actor (born 1978)
• Ian Thorpeb. 1982AUAustralian swimmer
• James Nortonb. 1985GBnot in their usual nameBritish actor

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 1,524 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Ian?

We estimate roughly 2.1 million people bear Ian (counting its spellings and scripts) across 13 countries in our records.

In which country does Ian have the most bearers?

We estimate about 873 thousand people bear Ian in Poland, more than in any other country in our records, where it is most often spelled יאן.

Where is Ian most common?

Measured as a share of residents rather than as a count, Ian is densest in the Czechia — about 1 in 18 people — even though Poland holds more of our records for it.

How common is Ian compared with other names?

In New Zealand, Ian is the 27th most common given name of 22,472 given names recorded there.

Is Ian a male or female name?

Ian is a male name in our records. Opposite-gender entries fall within the cross-gender noise we measure in the source data, so we don't report them as usage.

What does the name Ian mean?

Recorded meaning: Scottish Gaelic form of John; cognate with Irish Eoin; occasionally used in Ireland.