Ian

Scottish version of John

"the Lord is gracious"

Ian Origin and Meaning

The name Ian is a boy's name of Scottish origin meaning "the Lord is gracious".

Ian is Scottish form of John, derived from the Hebrew name Yohanan. It is an Anglicization of the Scottish Gaelic Iain, which is also a viable spelling. Ian was introduced to Americans by Ian Fleming, creator of James Bond.

Ian was rather late making inroads on our shores—it was already the seventh most popular name in England in 1975. It’s been on a steady path in the Top 100 ever since the introduction of James Bond, thanks to its jaunty charm. Today, Ian flies in formation with fellow classic British RAF pilot names, like Derek and Miles and Colin, all now certified U.S. citizens, packing considerable punch and panache into its three short letters. So though it may not be the newest name on the block, it's still a recommended choice.

Notable namesakes include actor Ian McKellan and novelist Ian McEwan. Actor Ian Ziering pronounces his name EYE-an, rather than the traditional EE-an.

Ian Rank in US Top 1000

# 70 in the US

Ian Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 274 on Nameberry

Ian Popularity

• 70 US 2023
• 253 Nameberry 2024
• 109 Future 2028
• 552 England 2021
• 180 Germany 2016
• 179 Netherlands 2015
• 51 Spain 2022
• 96 Portugal 2014
• 76 Slovenia 2023
• 33 Chile 2021
• 170 Canada 2022
• 81 Mexico 2021

20 Names Similar to Ian

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Ian.

• Evan
• Gavin
• Nathan
• Colin
• Dylan
• Ethan
• Connor
• Kieran
• Aaron
• Owen
• Isaac
• Logan
• Liam
• Daniel
• Seth
• Lucas
• Joshua
• Ewan
• Adam
• Andrew

Famous People Named Ian

• Ian Joseph Somerhalder American actor
• Ian Anthony Dale American actor
• Ian Lancaster Fleming English novelist
• Ian Russell McEwan English novelist
• Ian McDiarmid Scottish actor
• Ian Murray McKellen English actor
• Ian Harding American actor
• Ian Andrew Hecox American comedian of duo Smosh
• Ian Edward Wright British footballer
• Ian Murray American fashion designer
• Ian Michael Nelson American actor
• Ian Williams American football player
• Ian Andrew Ziering American actor (pronounces it eye,an)
• Ian Michael Smith American actor
• Ian James Rankin Scottish novelist
• Ian Michael Kinsler American baseball player
• Ian Kevin Curtis English lead singer of band Joy Division
• Ian David Lithgow American actor; son of actor John Lithgow
• Ian Brown English musician
• Ian McCormack Christian missionary and subject of film 'The Perfect Wave'
• Thomas Ian Nicholas American actor
• Ian Marcus Stapleton aka SSundee American YouTuber
• Ian Bohen American actor
• Ian Myles Crawford American musician and vocalist
• Ian Carter American comedian called idubbbz
• Ian Simpson American singer,songwriter and member of boy,band "BROCKHAMPTON"

Ian in Pop Culture

• Ian Doyle character on TV's "Criminal Minds"
• Ian Malcolm character in "Jurassic Park" series
• Ian brother pig in the "Olivia the Pig" series
• Ian Clayton Gallagher character on TV's "Shameless
• Ian Beale character in British soap “Eastenders”
• Ian Thomas character on TV's "Pretty Little Liars"
• Ian O'Shea character in Stephenie Meyer's "The Host"
• Ian Miller character in movie "My Big Fat Greek Wedding"
• Ian Duncan character on TV's "Community"
• Ian Hawthorne character in "Star of Babylon" by Barbara Wood
• Ian Dietrich character in "Attack on Titan"
• Ian Boothby character in Marvel Universe
• Ian Banks minor villain on "One Tree Hill"
• Ian Kabra character in the 39 Clues book series
• Ian Chesterton companion on TV's Doctor Who 1963,65