heyotag

Name meaning & stats

Yan

Yan means “God is gracious” (Scottish Gaelic origin). 1,085 US babies since 1940, peak 2025. Notable Yans are 1.6× over-represented as professors.

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What it means

“God is gracious”

Scottish GaelicSpelling of Ian

The Scottish form of John.

Ian around the world

  • Иан / Иэн · Russian
  • Ян · Ukrainian
  • Ίαν · Greek
  • إيان · Arabic
  • איאן · Hebrew
  • イアン · Japanese
  • 이안 · Korean
  • Iaean

Famous Ians

  • Ian Fleming · British author (1908–1964)
  • Ian McKellen · British actor (born 1939)
  • Ian McShane · English actor (born 1942)
  • Ian Somerhalder · American actor (born 1978)

In US birth records

Peak year: 2025

40s50s60s70s80s90s00s10s20s

1,085 US babies were named Yan between 1940 and 2025.

Where Yans end up

Careervs expectedConfidence
Professor1.6×Low · 4 people
Footballer1.1×Low · 2 people
Ice hockey player1.3×Low · 2 people
Screenwriter1.3×Low · 2 people

Among notable men who are professors, Yans show up 1.6× as often as you'd expect from how common the name is.

Notable people born 1940–2005 in the US, UK, Canada and Australia (Wikidata). Patterns, not destiny.

Other spellings

1 in 243 Ians spell it Yan

  • Ian 98%
  • Eian 1%
  • Eyan 1%
  • Yan <1%
  • Iann <1%
  • Iyan <1%
  • Yann <1%
  • Ihan <1%
  • Yian <1%
  • Iaan <1%

Names that sound the same, grouped by Heyotag. Share of US babies since 1940.

Name twins (peaked around 2025)