Ivan
Below 5 births
2025 SSA
About Ivan
Though some might find it a bit heavy-booted, Ivan is one of the few Russian boys' names to become fully accepted into the American naming pool.
Ivan is, of course, ubiquitous in Russian culture. There is one of the brothers in The Brothers Karamazov, the protagonists of Tolstoy's The Death of Ivan Ilyich, and Solzhenitsyn's One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, and the title character in Chekhov's Uncle Vanya. Real life Ivans include writer Turgnenev, biologist Pavlov, tennis player Lendl, and rulers Ivan the Great and --oops--Ivan the Terrible. Vanya is his warm and appealing nickname.
Ivan is also given to girls.
Pronounced ee-VAHN.
As of October 2026, Ivan ranked #163 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #113 in 2012, Nameberry popularity #196.
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank · boys | Births · boys | US rank · girls | Births · girls |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #132 | 3,079 | — | 0 |
| 2015 | #137 | 3,047 | — | 0 |
| 2016 | #131 | 3,160 | — | 0 |
| 2017 | #135 | 3,048 | — | 0 |
| 2018 | #133 | 2,910 | — | 0 |
| 2019 | #140 | 2,690 | — | 0 |
| 2020 | #153 | 2,440 | — | 0 |
| 2021 | #168 | 2,291 | — | 0 |
| 2022 | #159 | 2,363 | — | 0 |
| 2023 | #153 | 2,387 | — | 0 |
| 2024 | #153 | 2,340 | — | 0 |
| 2025 | #163 | 2,240 | — | 0 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Ivan.
Ivan on lists
Famous Ivans
- Ivan I Daniilovich KalitaBoy
Prince of Moscow
- Ivan II Ivanovich the FairBoy
Prince of Moscow
- Ivan III Vasilyevich aka Ivan the GreatBoy
Prince of Moscow
- Ivan IV Vasilyevich aka Ivan the TerribleBoy
Tsar of Russia
- Ivan AlexanderBoy
Tsar of Bulgaria
- Ivan Asen I and IIBoy
Tsars of Bulgaria
- Ivan Khristoforovich BagramyanBoy
Russian WWII commander
- Ivan LendlBoy
tennis player
- Ivan Andreyevich BukinBoy
Russian ice dancer
- Ivan BassoBoy
Italian road bicycle racer
- Ivan AivazovskyBoy
Russian painter
- (Ivan) Nathan FollowillBoy
musician from band "Kings of Leon"
- Ivan TodorovicBoy
Serbian footballer (plays for Portugal)
- Ivan "Kuki" KukoljBoy
Serbian singer
- Ivan SanchezBoy
Spanish actor
- Ivan DodigBoy
Croatian tennis player
- Ivan Petrovich PavlovBoy
renowned Russian physiologist and Nobel Prize winner
- Ivan BuninBoy
winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature
- Ivan MartinezBoy
Spanish YouTuber; twin brother Emilio Martinez
- Ivan OrkinBoy
American chef, creator of Ivan Ramen restaurants
- Ivan Vladimirovich ProvorovBoy
Russian ice hockey player
- Ivan ToneyBoth
English Footballer
Ivan in pop culture
- Ivan BraginskyBoy
personification of Russia in the manga/anime Axis Powers: Hetalia
- "The One and Only Ivan"Boy
novel by Katherine Applegate
- Ivan AlexeevBoy
character in film "Tapeheads"
- IvanBoy
character in animated series "Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends"
- "Ivan the FoolBoy
" short story by Leo Tolstoy
- Ivan VankoBoy
villain in "The Invincible Iron" comics
- Ivan Denisovich ShukhovBoy
title character in Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich"
- IvanBoy
character in video game "Golden Sun"
- Ivan Vassilevich LomovBoy
character in Anton Chekhov's "A Marriage Proposal"
- Ivan Raidenovich RaikovBoy
character in video game "Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater"
- "The Death of Ivan IlyichBoy
" novel by Leo Tolstoy
- Ivan KaramazovBoy
character in Fyodor Dostoevsky's "The Brothers Karamazov"
- IvanBoy
doorman in 2006 film "Curious George"
- Ivan VeenBoy
main character in Vladimir Nabokov's "Ada or Ardor"
- Ivan DragoBoy
boxer in film "Rocky IV"
- Ivan Nikolayevich Ponyryov (Bezdomny)Boy
character in Mikhail Bulgakov's "The Master and Margarita"
- Ivan ShawblyBoy
character on TV's "Mona the Vampire"
- IvanBoy
character in Aphmau's YouTube series
- Ivan BruelBoy
character in "Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir"
- IvanBoy
a vampire in the French online visual novel Moonlight Lovers
Variations & nicknames
- VanBoy