Ian
Ian was given to 3,924 boys in 2025, #83 among boys’ names; 258,479 Americans have been recorded with it since 1912 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 248,000 Americans named Ian and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (96% of everyone recorded); the median is 24 years old and half are between 14 and 36.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Ian by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Ian mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Ian is “a male given name from Scottish Gaelic Eòin, equivalent to English John.”
Borrowed from Scottish Gaelic Eòin.
/ˈiː.ən/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Ian?
#83 among boys’ names, 2025
Ian fell from #76 in 2015 to #83 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born fell from 2.8 to 2.3 per 1,000.
6,704 babies in 2005, the peak
Ian peaked in 2005, when 6,704 babies were given it (6,688 boys, #68 among boys’ names). The 3,932 births of 2025 (girls and boys) are 59% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 3,924 | #83 | 2.3 |
| 2024 | 4,560 | #75 | 2.6 |
| 2023 | 4,555 | #69 | 2.7 |
| 2022 | 4,505 | #72 | 2.6 |
| 2021 | 4,302 | #81 | 2.5 |
| 2020 | 4,267 | #83 | 2.5 |
| 2019 | 4,551 | #81 | 2.5 |
| 2018 | 4,706 | #79 | 2.6 |
| 2017 | 5,033 | #76 | 2.7 |
| 2016 | 5,079 | #78 | 2.7 |
Every recorded year (114)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 5,332 | #76 | 2.8 |
| 2014 | 5,461 | #77 | 2.8 |
| 2013 | 5,434 | #80 | 2.9 |
| 2012 | 5,696 | #78 | 3.0 |
| 2011 | 5,620 | #72 | 3.0 |
| 2010 | 5,563 | #72 | 2.9 |
| 2009 | 5,807 | #73 | 2.9 |
| 2008 | 5,723 | #80 | 2.8 |
| 2007 | 6,250 | #75 | 3.0 |
| 2006 | 6,154 | #80 | 3.0 |
| 2005 | 6,688 | #68 | 3.3 |
| 2004 | 6,507 | #69 | 3.3 |
| 2003 | 6,466 | #65 | 3.3 |
| 2002 | 6,360 | #67 | 3.3 |
| 2001 | 6,084 | #70 | 3.1 |
| 2000 | 5,886 | #73 | 3.0 |
| 1999 | 5,450 | #72 | 2.8 |
| 1998 | 5,353 | #73 | 2.8 |
| 1997 | 5,211 | #70 | 2.8 |
| 1996 | 5,411 | #70 | 2.9 |
| 1995 | 5,594 | #67 | 2.9 |
| 1994 | 5,267 | #74 | 2.7 |
| 1993 | 5,399 | #70 | 2.8 |
| 1992 | 5,536 | #68 | 2.8 |
| 1991 | 5,326 | #73 | 2.6 |
| 1990 | 5,460 | #70 | 2.7 |
| 1989 | 4,948 | #68 | 2.5 |
| 1988 | 4,315 | #77 | 2.3 |
| 1987 | 3,924 | #81 | 2.1 |
| 1986 | 3,713 | #85 | 2.0 |
| 1985 | 3,998 | #78 | 2.2 |
| 1984 | 3,796 | #78 | 2.1 |
| 1983 | 3,665 | #77 | 2.0 |
| 1982 | 3,574 | #83 | 2.0 |
| 1981 | 2,928 | #101 | 1.6 |
| 1980 | 2,909 | #104 | 1.6 |
| 1979 | 2,554 | #107 | 1.5 |
| 1978 | 2,172 | #117 | 1.3 |
| 1977 | 2,287 | #119 | 1.4 |
| 1976 | 1,936 | #135 | 1.2 |
| 1975 | 1,717 | #144 | 1.1 |
| 1974 | 1,653 | #148 | 1.1 |
| 1973 | 1,302 | #180 | 0.84 |
| 1972 | 1,248 | #189 | 0.77 |
| 1971 | 1,201 | #202 | 0.68 |
| 1970 | 1,116 | #222 | 0.60 |
| 1969 | 828 | #253 | 0.46 |
| 1968 | 716 | #276 | 0.41 |
| 1967 | 771 | #260 | 0.44 |
| 1966 | 620 | #297 | 0.35 |
| 1965 | 488 | #345 | 0.26 |
| 1964 | 429 | #383 | 0.22 |
| 1963 | 360 | #423 | 0.18 |
| 1962 | 281 | #474 | 0.14 |
| 1961 | 242 | #512 | 0.11 |
| 1960 | 242 | #511 | 0.11 |
| 1959 | 208 | #542 | 0.10 |
| 1958 | 205 | #537 | 0.10 |
| 1957 | 213 | #530 | 0.10 |
| 1956 | 194 | #539 | 0.09 |
| 1955 | 175 | #555 | 0.08 |
| 1954 | 171 | #557 | 0.08 |
| 1953 | 157 | #568 | 0.08 |
| 1952 | 120 | #639 | 0.06 |
| 1951 | 104 | #683 | 0.06 |
| 1950 | 123 | #621 | 0.07 |
| 1949 | 102 | #678 | 0.06 |
| 1948 | 87 | #719 | 0.05 |
| 1947 | 111 | #656 | 0.06 |
| 1946 | 85 | #705 | 0.05 |
| 1945 | 64 | #770 | 0.05 |
| 1944 | 68 | #758 | 0.05 |
| 1943 | 64 | #825 | 0.04 |
| 1942 | 80 | #719 | 0.06 |
| 1941 | 62 | #803 | 0.05 |
| 1940 | 56 | #844 | 0.05 |
| 1939 | 61 | #778 | 0.06 |
| 1938 | 49 | #903 | 0.04 |
| 1937 | 50 | #875 | 0.05 |
| 1936 | 44 | #931 | 0.04 |
| 1935 | 45 | #945 | 0.04 |
| 1934 | 41 | #1,013 | 0.04 |
| 1933 | 27 | #1,293 | 0.03 |
| 1932 | 40 | #1,066 | 0.04 |
| 1931 | 43 | #1,020 | 0.04 |
| 1930 | 45 | #1,029 | 0.04 |
| 1929 | 31 | #1,282 | 0.03 |
| 1928 | 40 | #1,114 | 0.04 |
| 1927 | 27 | #1,451 | 0.02 |
| 1926 | 24 | #1,539 | 0.02 |
| 1925 | 19 | #1,835 | 0.02 |
| 1924 | 28 | #1,434 | 0.02 |
| 1923 | 22 | #1,667 | 0.02 |
| 1922 | 9 | #3,123 | 0.01 |
| 1921 | 15 | #2,201 | 0.01 |
| 1920 | 10 | #2,861 | 0.01 |
| 1919 | 9 | #2,984 | 0.01 |
| 1918 | 11 | #2,616 | 0.01 |
| 1917 | 19 | #1,726 | 0.02 |
| 1916 | 15 | #1,996 | 0.02 |
| 1915 | 15 | #1,919 | 0.02 |
| 1914 | 10 | #2,178 | 0.02 |
| 1913 | 7 | #2,374 | 0.01 |
| 1912 | 6 | #2,408 | 0.01 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Ian a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Ian has been given almost only to boys: 815 girls in 114 years of records.
Girls and boys named Ian: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Ian, and how old are they?
248,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 96% of the 258,479 Americans ever recorded as Ian. The median Ian alive today is 24 years old; half are between 14 and 36.
The 2020 Census counted 222,811 people named Ian (649 women and girls, 222,162 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 226,185 born in the U.S. The Census count is 1% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 207 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 2,530 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 21,300 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 69,700 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 93,400 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 61,400 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Ian born?
The states with the most babies named Ian are Texas, California and Florida, with 36% of its births recorded by state in 2025.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 575 | #63 | 0.9× |
| California | 545 | #64 | 1.1× |
| Florida | 281 | #70 | 0.9× |
| New York | 246 | #68 | 1.1× |
| New Jersey | 176 | #50 | 1.0× |
| North Carolina | 149 | #79 | 0.8× |
| Georgia | 142 | #77 | 0.7× |
| Illinois | 112 | #106 | 0.9× |
| Virginia | 98 | #88 | 1.1× |
| Maryland | 97 | #55 | 1.1× |
Where Ian is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Ian is most over-represented in Hawaii: since 1912 it was given 1.4 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Ian with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 8 names spelled alike, given to 263,141 babies since 1880, Ian is the most given (98% of them). In 2025 it was given to 3,932 of their 4,024 babies (98%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Ian
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Ian and names like it
- Compare Ian and IainBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 2000sIan peaked in 2005.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Ian since 1910.
- Scottish Gaelic namesWiktionary’s origin for Ian: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 2005The year the most babies were named Ian.
- The names of Generation ZMost people named Ian alive today were born 1997-2012.
- Names starting with IMost given first.