Ivan

What Ivan means

Same root as John, possibly meaning “God is gracious”

Doublet of John || From Middle English John, Johan, Johannes, from Anglo-Norman Jehan, Johan, and also Old English Iohannes, both from Late Latin Iōhannēs, variant of Latin Iōannēs, from Koine Greek Ἰωάννης (Iōánnēs), from Biblical Hebrew יוֹחָנָן (Yôḥānān),

Source: Wiktionary, “Ivan” (revision 93671709) and “John” (revision 94540597), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Ivan?

US: Falling: down from #137 in 2015. England & Wales: Steady: #290 in 2015, #283 now.

Biggest US share so far: 2004, when 3,462 boys got the name (#117 that year). First in the US records in 1880.

How common

• About 1 in 763 baby boys in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 1,710 baby boys in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 1,786 baby boys in Scotland in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in AZ (3.27 per 1,000 boys), HI (3.08 per 1,000 boys), OR (2.66 per 1,000 boys) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed boys born in each state.

US vs UK

Ivan is #162 in the US and #283 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (boys). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 99.9+% of US babies named Ivan were boys.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Evan2,412 US · 261 E&W
• Ivaan215 US · 78 E&W
• Aven158 US · 13 E&W
• Evaan47 US · 24 E&W
• Evin29 US · 3 E&W
• Avan28 US
• Avin27 US
• Aiven22 US · 4 E&W

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

If you like Ivan

Boys

• Aiden#62Variant of Aidan, meaning “fire”^*
• Owen#31Editor’s note More popular in the US than England & Wales: #31 vs #170 in 2025
• Ayden#257Variant of Aidan, meaning “fire”^*
• Gavin#303Editor’s note Cooling off in the US: #70 in 2015, #303 in 2025
• Finn#206“the Sami”^*
• Ronan#247Irish, meaning “little seal”^*

For a sister

• Alayna#332Editor’s note Down from #223 in 2015 to #332 in 2025 in the US
• Ava#11Editor’s note Down from #4 in 2015 to #11 in 2025 in the US. About 1 in 210 US girls in the 2025 records
• Fiona#470“fair, white”^*
• Brynn#407Editor’s note Down from #259 in 2015 to #407 in 2025 in the US
• Aileen#799Variant of Eileen, possibly meaning “radiance, beauty”^*
• Anya#375Editor’s note Up from #550 in 2015 to #375 in 2025 in the US

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under Irish & Celtic, Slavic, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Ivan’s. Rank is US 2025.