Ivan
Masculine · “God is gracious”
Ivan is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 150,137 boys against 650 girls since 1880. See Ivan as a girl name
Ivan is the Russian form of the commonest name in Christendom, and American records treat it as a name of its own rather than as a variant of the English one. It is also the name Russian folk tales give to their least promising hero, who wins anyway.
How old is the name Ivan?
Ivan was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Ivan alive today was born around 2001, making them about 24 years old. About 124,000 people named Ivan are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Ivan most popular?
Ivan peaked in 2012, reaching #113 nationally. Today it ranks #162, 49 places below that high. See the whole 2012 chart.
Where it comes from
From Yohanan to Ivan
The story of Ivan
Russian folk tales keep giving the kingdom to the youngest of three brothers, and they call him the fool. Ivan the Fool lies on the stove, does no work, is despised by his clever brothers, and then succeeds at the impossible task because he is kind to an animal or an old woman the others ignored. The pattern is so consistent that it is one of the recognized types in folklore indexes, and it had a long afterlife: Tolstoy wrote a story about him, and the figure has been read ever since as a comment on cleverness — the tales reward the person who is decent and unambitious rather than the one who is capable. Whether that is a national self-portrait or a wish is a question Russians have asked about their own stories for a very long time.
Meaning
God is gracious
From the Hebrew name meaning God has been gracious, through Greek and Church Slavonic. The Slavic languages took it from the Byzantine form rather than the Latin one, which is why it begins with a vowel where the western forms begin with a consonant.
Cultural footprint
Ivan Pavlov (b. 1849) — The scientist of Pavlov's dogs
Ivan Turgenev (b. 1818) — Wrote Fathers and Sons
Ivan the Terrible (b. 1530) — The first tsar of Russia
Source: Wikidata — the one source on this page that is not an official agency.
How the name formed
- Yohanan
- Ioannes
- Ivan
Related forms: Иван · Iván · John · Ivan
Pronouncing Ivan
ee-VAHN
Two syllables with the stress at the back in Russian and in Spanish. American English often says EYE-vun instead, which is a noticeably different name.
Nicknames for Ivan
Moderate
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
- 1880
- Most boys named
- 20043,462 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #113reached in 2012
- Change vs 2022
- −5.2%2,240 in 2025, from 2,363
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.
Ivan in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Иван in Russian — same name
- Iván in Spanish — same name
- John in English — same name
- Ivan in Czech — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Florida.
Ivans among us
people named Ivan are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 763 born in 2025 was named Ivan
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Francisco test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Ivan's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Francisco climbed just as high around 1991, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Francisco's path sketches the road Ivan is walking now.
Ivan sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Ivan is headed
Ivan should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
High confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Ivan beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Ivan in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- It is a standing name in a dozen languages rather than an invention.
- The meaning is documented and the descent is unbroken.
- It works in Russian, Spanish and English households without adjustment.
- The English and Slavic readings move the stress, so the name is said two ways.
- Iven and Ivon will both be written for it.
- The record holds this spelling for daughters as well, though almost never.
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What they receive
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Ivan
Masculine · #162 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Ivans are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 124,000 people named Ivan are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Ivan in 2025?
- Ivan ranks #162 among US boy names in 2025, with 2,240 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Ivan?
- About 1 in every 763 US boys born in 2025 was named Ivan — 2,240 in all.
- Will my child share the name Ivan with classmates?
- Ivan will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Ivan
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Hayes#162 · Hayden#161 · Ace#164 · Elliott#160 · Jason#165 · Juan#159 · Diego#158 · Connor#166
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Ivan? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Ivan and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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