How common is the name Ian?

222,811 people in the United States have the first name Ian, about 1 in 1,356. It ranks #251 of 53,615 first names in the 2020 Census.

first name

IAN

#251

of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census

People
222,811
About
1 in 1,356
This common or more
45.7%
Who bears it

Of the 222,811 people named Ian, 69.1% reported their origin as White, 15.6% as Hispanic or Latino and 5.4% as Black. Virtually all are male (99.7%). These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.

Ian peaked in 2005, when 6,704 babies got the name.

Births per year, SSA records 1880–2025
19122025
Peak year
2005
Births that year
6,704
In 2025*
3,932 ▼41%
Recorded as
almost entirely male

At least 258,479 babies have been given the name since 1912. Years SSA withheld, because fewer than 5 were born, are skipped rather than drawn as zero. * 2025 is the newest year published and it undercounts: a card application is filed some time after a birth.

Ian by decade

Among all names given to American babies, it ranked #110 in every decade from the 2000s to the 2010s. The largest share of babies named Ian, 36.8%, were born between 1997 and 2012, as Generation Z.

1910s#4,33992
1920s#3,234225
1930s#1,947445
1940s#1,596784
1950s#1,2921,670
1960s#7704,996
1970s#32417,321
1980s#15738,032
1990s#13454,153
2000s#11062,046
2010s#11052,549
2020s#12926,166
Greatest Generation 1901–270.1%
Silent Generation 1928–450.4%
Baby boom 1946–641.4%
Generation X 1965–809.2%
Millennials 1981–9628.3%
Generation Z 1997–1236.8%
2013 and later23.9%

Rank counts both sexes together, among every name SSA recorded that decade; the number under it is births. The 2020s run only to 2025. Generation years follow Pew Research Center, which has not named a generation after 2012.

Where Ian is most common

Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Ian has been most common in Alaska (2.4×), Nevada (2×), and New Hampshire (1.9×), and least common in Mississippi (0.34×).

255,574 births recorded by state, 1910–2025. 2× means twice as common as nationally. States with fewer than 30 such births are left blank, and SSA withholds any year with fewer than 5 in a state, so small states read low.

Either side of Ian

#249 Alice · 225,222#250 Philip · 223,037#252 Anne · 221,693#253 Brianna · 221,271

Spelled almost the same

4 first names in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Ian, most common first.

#4,977 Iain · 3,574#11,277 Iana · 1,148#21,143 Iann · 483#21,545 Iam · 470

Also a last name

As a last name, Ian ranks #91,884 of 156,621, with 215 people. See Ian as a last name

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