Iban
Masculine · “God is gracious”
Iban is a Basque form of John, carried by the cyclist Iban Mayo, who won the stage to Alpe d'Huez in the 2003 Tour de France. By coincidence it is also the name of one of the great peoples of Borneo, the Iban of Sarawak, and of their language.
How old is the name Iban?
Iban first appears in US birth records in 1973 — 52 years ago. The typical Iban alive today was born around 1998, making them about 27 years old. About 500 people named Iban are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Iban most popular?
Iban peaked in 1997, reaching #3064 nationally. See the whole 1997 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Hebrew Yohanan to Iban
The story of Iban
The Basque word for Saint John shows the name at work: Donibane, from done, saint, and Iban, John. The French Basque towns of Saint-Jean-de-Luz and Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port are Donibane Lohizune and Donibane Garazi in Basque. Iban Mayo rode for the Basque team Euskaltel-Euskadi and won the Alpe d'Huez stage of the 2003 Tour. The Iban of Borneo are unrelated: a Dayak people of Sarawak and western Kalimantan, known for their longhouses and for the language that carries their name.
Meaning
God is gracious, through John
Iban is a Basque form of John, from the Hebrew Yohanan, God is gracious. In Spanish-speaking families it also sounds exactly like Iván, the Slavic John, so either road arrives at the same meaning.
How the name formed
- Hebrew Yohanan
- Latin Iohannes
- Basque Iban
Related forms: Jon · Juan · Ivan · Joan
Pronouncing Iban
ee-BAHN
Basque and Spanish stress the second syllable. In Spanish it sounds exactly like Iván, since Spanish says b and v the same way.
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1973
- Most boys named
- 200229 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #3064reached in 1997
- Change vs 2017
- +20.0%6 in 2019, from 5
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Iban in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Jon in Basque — related form
- Juan in Spanish — related form
- Ivan in Russian — related form
- Joan in Catalan — related form
Ibans among us
people named Iban are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Iban sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- A real Basque name with a documented link to John.
- Short, four letters, two syllables.
- Sounds like Iván to Spanish speakers, so Spanish-speaking family will say it easily.
- English speakers will say EYE-ban, and many will take it for a misspelling of Ivan.
- In banking, IBAN is the International Bank Account Number, familiar to anyone who has paid a European invoice; it is a harmless coincidence.
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What they receive
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Iban
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Ibans are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 500 people named Iban are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Iban in 2025?
- Iban is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Iban with classmates?
- Iban will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More I names
The most-given names starting with I, all years combined.
Isaac#47 · Ian#83 · Isaiah#57 · Ivan#162 · Israel#315 · Ira#819 · Irving#1778 · Ismael#263
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Iban? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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