Yvan
Masculine · “God is gracious”
Yvan is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 505 boys against 5 girls since 1880.
Yvan sits between two names that have nothing to do with each other. Ivan is the Slavic John; Yves is Germanic, from the word for a yew tree. The Y at the front of this spelling pulls a Russian name toward a French one.
How old is the name Yvan?
Yvan first appears in US birth records in 1961 — 64 years ago. The typical Yvan alive today was born around 2003, making them about 22 years old. About 500 people named Yvan are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Yvan most popular?
Yvan peaked in 1974, reaching #3558 nationally. Today it ranks #6803, 3,245 places below that high. See the whole 1974 chart.
Where it comes from
From Yohanan to Yvan
The story of Yvan
French writes the sound at the front of this name with either an I or a Y, and the Y form is preferred for a number of names, including Yvan, Yvon and Ysabelle in older spellings. Because Yves and Yvonne are genuinely French and genuinely common, a Y at the front reads as native French rather than as a Slavic borrowing, which is presumably why the spelling exists. The Slavic Ivan itself is one of the most-used men's names in Europe, and it entered French use through Russian literature and through migration. Yvan reached United States records with French and Haitian families, with a best year of 1974.
Meaning
God is gracious
Ivan is the Slavic form of John, from Hebrew Yohanan, God is gracious, by way of Greek and Church Slavonic. Yves is a separate Germanic name from iv, a yew tree, and gives Yvonne and Yvette. French uses both Ivan and Yvan for the Slavic name, and the Y spelling is a French orthographic habit rather than a link to Yves.
How the name formed
- Yohanan
- Ioannes
- Ivan
- Yvan
Related forms: Yvan · Ivan · Ivan · Ivano
Pronouncing Yvan
ee-VAHN
Two syllables with the stress at the end in French. Russian says ee-VAHN as well; English speakers often front-stress it as EYE-van, which is the ordinary American adaptation.
Nicknames for Yvan
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
- 1961
- Most boys named
- 202017 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #3558reached in 1974
- Change vs 2024
- 0.0%12 in 2025, from 12
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.
Yvan in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Yvan in French — same name
- Ivan in Russian — same name
- Ivan in Spanish — same name
- Ivano in Italian — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: California.
Yvans among us
people named Yvan are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 142,340 born in 2025 was named Yvan
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 Obrien test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Yvan's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Obrien climbed just as high around 1958, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Obrien's path sketches the road Yvan is walking now.
Yvan 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
Yvan beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Yvan in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A settled meaning inherited from one of the most-used names in the world.
- Familiar in some form across the whole of Europe.
- Marks a French or Francophone spelling of a Slavic name.
- Ivan is the standard spelling everywhere else.
- It is constantly assumed to be related to Yves, which it is not.
- English speakers may front-stress it, which changes the name.
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What they receive
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Yvan
Masculine · #6803 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Yvans 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 Yvan are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Yvan in 2025?
- Yvan ranks #6803 among US boy names in 2025, with 12 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Yvan?
- About 1 in every 142,340 US boys born in 2025 was named Yvan — 12 in all.
- Will my child share the name Yvan with classmates?
- Yvan will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Yvan
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Zeb#6803 · Buster#6803 · Fabien#6803 · Eston#6803 · Tyjuan#6803 · Fuad#6803 · Aaiden#6803 · Sanford#6803
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Yvan? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Yvan and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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