Meanings
alternative Iain
- A male given name from Scottish Gaelic Eòin, equivalent to English John.
2 more examples
“If you want a Scotch name why don’t you call him Jock?” Macgregor looked disgusted. “Because Jock is not a name, but a diminutive, as everybody knows well. It is the diminutive of John. And John is not a Scots name. The Scots form of that name is Ian. If you want to call him Ian Fetch, I shall say no more”.
1975, Robertson Davies, World of Wonders, →ISBN, page 736After an inquest's ruling yesterday, it is now official that the newspaper vendor, Ian Tomlinson, was unlawfully killed amid the policing of the G20 protests in 2009. Many who saw the footage the Guardian obtained, which showed PC Simon Harwood striking Mr Tomlinson just before his death, will regard the verdict as a statement of the blindingly obvious.
2011 May 4, Ian Tomlinson, “Unlawfully killed by the law”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 10 Mar 2016
Origin
- Scottish GaelicEòin
- Scottish GaelicEòin
- EnglishIan
Borrowed from Scottish Gaelic Eòin.
More words from Scottish Gaelic
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic إيان
- إيان (ʔiyān)male given name
Chinese Mandarin 伊恩
- 伊恩 (Yī'ēn)male given name
Finnish Ian, Juha
- Ianmale given name
- Juhamale given name
- Juhomale given name
Greek Ίαν
- Ίαν (Ían)male given name
Japanese イアン
- イアン (Ian)male given name
Korean 이언
- 이언 (Ieon)male given name
Latvian Jans
- Jansmale given name
Russian Ян, Иэн
- Янmale given name
- Иэн (Ien)male given name
Spanish Iván, Juan
- Ivánmale given name
- Juanmale given name
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with Ian
Anagrams
Cite this entry
Ian. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Ian
“Ian.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Ian. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Ian,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Ian.
Source: Ian on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.