How Many People Are Named Ian?
An estimated 246,843 people in the United States have the first name Ian. While not in the top 50, it remains a well-known name ranking #206 overall. It is almost exclusively a male name. The average bearer is 26 years old, and Ian peaked in popularity in 2005 with 6,704 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Ian as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Ian paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Ian is overwhelmingly male, 807 female births have been registered with this name since 1880.
Estimated Living Americans
246,843
About 1 in 1,389 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Common
Predicted Gender
Male
99.7% confidence
Average Age
26
years old
Peak Year
2005
6,704 births
Total Registered
254,514
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Ian
Ian is almost exclusively a male name. Out of 254,514 total births registered, 99.7% were male.
Ian as a male name
Ranked #75 in 2024
4,547 male births in 2024
Peak: 2005 (6,688 births)
Ian as a female name
Ranked #11,449 in 2024
8 female births in 2024
Peak: 1986 (35 births)
Ian: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Ian span from the 1910s to the 2020s, covering 12 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 2000s, when 62,047 babies were registered. While Ian is less common than at its peak in the 2000s, it remains a well-established name with steady registrations.
Ian by Decade
How has Ian tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
Ian by State
Birth registrations for Ian span all 51 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in California, Texas, New York. The lowest are in Wyoming, South Dakota, Vermont. On average, about 4,934 Ians were registered per state.
Ian + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Ian as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Ian
Other first names starting with I with a similar number of bearers.
Ian: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ian?
We estimate approximately 246,843 people named Ian are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 1,389 Americans share this first name.
Is Ian a common name?
Ian is classified as "Common" and is more popular than 99.8% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 254,514 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Ian most popular?
Ian reached peak popularity in 2005, when 6,704 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Ian is approximately 26 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Ian a male name?
Ian is predominantly male. 99.7% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Ian Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Ian Smith, Ian Johnson, Ian Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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