ninan.org

Ian

Boys' name · Millennial-era

Living in the US
~249,600 survival-weighted estimate
2025 rank
#83 among boys
Births in 2025
3,932 258,479 since 1880
Typical age
23 years, median

Ian popularity over time

Ian rank by birth year, 1912–2025Ian ranked #2,269 in 1912 and #83 in 2025. Its best rank in the period was #65, in 2003.#100#1,000#83192019401960198020002020
Rank among US baby names by birth year, 1912–2025. Lower is more popular; the scale is logarithmic so the top of the chart is not compressed.

More children were named Ian in 2005 than in any other year — 6,704 of them. The name does not appear in the data until 1912. Ian has spent 44 years inside the national top 100.

The 2025 position is #83, on 3,932 births. Compared with 2015, births are down 26%.

Babies named Ian per yearPeaks at 6,704 births in 2005.6,704 in 20050192019401960198020002020
Recorded US births by year. The peak is labelled; the axis starts at zero.

How many people are named Ian?

Roughly 249,600 Ians are alive in the US right now. That is out of 258,479 recorded births since 1880.

This is a survival-weighted estimate, not a headcount: every recorded birth year is multiplied by the chance someone born that year is still alive, using the SSA period life table. How the estimate works.

How old is the average Ian?

Half of living Ians are older than 23, half younger. The 2000s produced the largest surviving cohort. By the site’s era rules that makes Ian a millennial-era name.

Your Ian

Ages of living people named IanHalf of living Ians are older than 23 and half younger.median 23020406080100
Estimated living bearers by age today. Each bar is a birth year, weighted by the chance someone born then is still alive.

Where Ian is most common

Ian is 1.9× as common in New Mexico as it is nationally. Rhode Island, Delaware and District of Columbia follow.

Where Ian is used more than average5 states use the name Ian more than the national average.Alaska: not over-representedAKMaine: not over-representedMEVermont: not over-representedVTNew Hampshire: not over-representedNHWashington: not over-representedWAIdaho: not over-representedIDMontana: not over-representedMTNorth Dakota: not over-representedNDMinnesota: not over-representedMNIllinois: not over-representedILWisconsin: not over-representedWIMichigan: not over-representedMINew York: not over-representedNYOregon: not over-representedORNevada: not over-representedNVWyoming: not over-representedWYSouth Dakota: not over-representedSDIowa: not over-representedIAIndiana: not over-representedINOhio: not over-representedOHPennsylvania: not over-representedPANew Jersey: not over-representedNJConnecticut: not over-representedCTRhode Island: 1.7× the national rateRICalifornia: not over-representedCAUtah: not over-representedUTColorado: not over-representedCONebraska: not over-representedNEMissouri: not over-representedMOKentucky: not over-representedKYWest Virginia: not over-representedWVVirginia: not over-representedVAMaryland: not over-representedMDDelaware: 1.7× the national rateDEMassachusetts: not over-representedMAArizona: not over-representedAZNew Mexico: 1.9× the national rateNMKansas: not over-representedKSArkansas: not over-representedARTennessee: not over-representedTNNorth Carolina: not over-representedNCSouth Carolina: not over-representedSCDistrict of Columbia: 1.6× the national rateDCOklahoma: not over-representedOKLouisiana: not over-representedLAMississippi: not over-representedMSAlabama: not over-representedALGeorgia: not over-representedGAHawaii: not over-representedHITexas: 1.6× the national rateTXFlorida: not over-representedFL
Same as national3× or more
Location quotient, 2016–2025. Shaded states use the name more than the country does, relative to their own births. Exact figures are in the table below.
States where Ian is over-represented, 2016–2025. The location quotient compares the state's share of the name with the national share.
StateBirthsvs national rate
New Mexico 322 1.9×
Rhode Island 136 1.7×
Delaware 122 1.7×
District of Columbia 135 1.6×
Texas 6,964 1.6×

Ian in England and Wales

ONS recorded 66 births named Ian in 2025, ranking it #585.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Counts below three are suppressed by ONS.

Where the name Ian comes from

English Wiktionary: given name from Scottish Gaelic.

Notable people named Ian

Ordered by how many Wikipedia language editions have an article about them — a measure of reach, not of importance.
NameKnown forYearsEditions
Ian Fleming British author 1908–1964 106
Ian McKellen British actor 1939 91
Ian McShane English actor 1942 88
Ian Somerhalder American actor 1978 72
Ian McEwan British author 1948 63
Ian Holm British actor 1931–2020 59
Ian Thorpe Australian swimmer 1982 57
Ian Khama Botswana politician 1953 55
Photo credits (7)

People and dates from Wikidata (CC0), limited to those with an English Wikipedia article who are known by this name as their first name.

Related pages

Get this data

Every number on this page is available as JSON: /api/name/ian.json. Free to use with attribution (CC BY 4.0).