Ian Boy
How popular is Ian?
#83 boy name in 2025
3,924 baby boys were named Ian in the US in 2025, making it the 83rd most popular boy name. Another 8 girls got the name (#10,913 for girls).
Ian popularity over time
Boys Girls
| Rank in 2025 | #83 for boys (▼ 9 from 2024) |
|---|---|
| Babies in 2025 | 3,924 boys, 8 girls |
| 10-year trend | Falling (-26% babies vs 2015) |
| Earlier ranks | #76 in 2015, #83 in 2020 |
| Peak year | 2005 (6,688 boys) |
| Highest rank | #65 in 2003 |
| First recorded | 1912 |
| Boys vs girls (last 10 years) | 100% boys, 0% girls |
| Chance a classmate shares it | 3% in a class of 25 kids born in 2025 |
Ian counting every spelling
Social Security counts each spelling as its own name. Adding together the spellings that sound alike, the Ian family of names ranked #91 for boys in 2025 (#81 the year before), with 3,963 babies in all.
| Spelling | Boys in 2025 | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Ian | 3,924 | 99% |
| Iain | 11 | 0% |
| Iann | 19 | 0% |
| Iyan | 9 | 0% |
Spellings are grouped by how they sound, using our own rules, so a few groupings may not match how your family says the name.
Where Ian is most popular
Babies named Ian per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021 to 2025. Darker means more common.
- New Jersey: 4.2 per 1,000 (848 boys)
- Rhode Island: 4.2 per 1,000 (68 boys)
- Maryland: 4.2 per 1,000 (496 boys)
- New Mexico: 4.1 per 1,000 (136 boys)
- Texas: 3.7 per 1,000 (3,256 boys)
Ian by decade
| Decade | Baby boys | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1910s | 92 | #1,692 |
| 1920s | 225 | #1,111 |
| 1930s | 445 | #776 |
| 1940s | 779 | #656 |
| 1950s | 1,670 | #530 |
| 1960s | 4,977 | #253 |
| 1970s | 17,186 | #107 |
| 1980s | 37,770 | #68 |
| 1990s | 54,007 | #67 |
| 2000s | 61,925 | #65 |
| 2010s | 52,475 | #72 |
| 2020s | 26,113 | #69 |
Boy names about as popular as Ian
Questions
- Is Ian a boy or girl name?
- Ian is mostly a boy name. Over the last 10 years, 100% of babies named Ian were boys.
- How popular is the name Ian?
- 3,924 baby boys were named Ian in the US in 2025, making it the 83rd most popular boy name. Another 8 girls got the name (#10,913 for girls).
- When was Ian most popular?
- Ian peaked in 2005, when 6,688 boys were given the name. Its highest rank was #65 in 2003.
- How many people are named Ian?
- 258,479 babies have been named Ian in the US since 1880. We estimate about 249,578 of them are alive in 2026, with a median age of 24.
- Where is Ian most popular?
- From 2021 to 2025, Ian was most common in New Jersey, at 4.2 of every 1,000 boys born there.
Source: Social Security Administration baby name data, 1880 to 2025 (names given to at least 5 babies of a sex in a year). Living-people and median-age figures are our estimates using US life tables. How we calculate.