Ian
Meaning and origin
Wiktionary describes it as a male given name from Scottish Gaelic Eòin, equivalent to English John. Borrowed from Scottish Gaelic Eòin.
Source: Wiktionary, English entry for Ian (CC BY-SA 4.0). This is the origin of the name in English; families in Sweden may have taken it from another language.
Popularity in Sweden
Among newborns, Ian has been rising over the last few years. Its best year between 1998 and 2022 was 2021. The figures are for this exact spelling; other spellings of the name are counted on their own.
Years with fewer than two babies (fewer than ten before 2004) show as zero in the chart and as – in the table.
Show the figures
| Year | Boys |
|---|---|
| 1998 | 13 |
| 1999 | 11 |
| 2000 | – |
| 2001 | 21 |
| 2002 | 18 |
| 2003 | 25 |
| 2004 | 32 |
| 2005 | 27 |
| 2006 | 32 |
| 2007 | 39 |
| 2008 | 39 |
| 2009 | 43 |
| 2010 | 57 |
| 2011 | 67 |
| 2012 | 61 |
| 2013 | 64 |
| 2014 | 63 |
| 2015 | 61 |
| 2016 | 73 |
| 2017 | 53 |
| 2018 | 67 |
| 2019 | 60 |
| 2020 | 78 |
| 2021 | 96 |
| 2022 | 84 |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Women and girls | Men and boys |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | – | 450 |
| 2000 | – | 470 |
| 2001 | – | 497 |
| 2002 | – | 520 |
| 2003 | – | 560 |
| 2004 | – | 593 |
| 2005 | 10 | 625 |
| 2006 | 10 | 665 |
| 2007 | 10 | 716 |
| 2008 | 10 | 769 |
| 2009 | 10 | 827 |
| 2010 | – | 894 |
| 2011 | – | 971 |
| 2012 | 10 | 1,041 |
| 2013 | 10 | 1,113 |
| 2014 | 10 | 1,181 |
| 2015 | 11 | 1,247 |
| 2016 | 13 | 1,325 |
| 2017 | 14 | 1,381 |
| 2018 | 14 | 1,463 |
| 2019 | 14 | 1,534 |
| 2020 | 13 | 1,610 |
Ian in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Ian.Hi! My name is Ian.
- Ian ringde och sa att han blir lite sen.Ian called and said he'll be a bit late.
- Ian har bott i Uppsala i tre år.Ian has lived in Uppsala for three years.
- Ians mamma är lärare.Ian's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Ians mamma is Ian's mum.
Related names and other spellings
More names
Questions about Ian
How do you pronounce Ian in Swedish?
Press Listen at the top of the page to hear Ian in your device's Swedish voice.
What does the name Ian mean?
Wiktionary describes it as a male given name from Scottish Gaelic Eòin, equivalent to English John. Borrowed from Scottish Gaelic Eòin.
How popular is Ian in Sweden?
84 babies were named Ian in 2022. In 2020, 1,623 people in Sweden had Ian as the first name they go by. Among newborns the name has been rising lately and peaked in 2021 in the years SCB covers (1998–2022).
Popularity figures: Statistics Sweden (SCB), name statistics (BE0001) from the Statistical Database, released as open data under CC0. Each spelling is counted as its own name, as SCB does. SCB's open name statistics end with babies named in 2022 and the population on 31 December 2020; SCB stopped producing name statistics in 2024 and now points to the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) for newer figures.
Origins, IPA and recordings: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), via kaikki.org; recordings from Lingua Libre on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA). Lingolib is not affiliated with SCB or Wiktionary. Sources last checked 7 October 2026.