Iain

maleStatistical record

What official birth registration shows about Iain: which national registrars published it, in which years, and how its recorded position changed.

No researched meaning, origin or pronunciation yet — what that means.

Iain: Recorded since 1965, it reached #186 in 1988, and it stood at #727 in 2024.

4registrars recorded it
69times a registrar ranked it
60years from first to last
#186highest recorded position
14groupings it qualifies for

Region

Falling

among boys in England and Wales · 1996–2021

View as table

England and Wales · Boys rank by year
Year	Rank
1996	#319
1997	#331
1998	#398
1999	#471
2000	#515
2001	#433
2002	#805
2003	#889
2004	#815
2005	#1299
2006	#1892
2007	#1885
2008	#1953
2009	#2126
2010	#3332
2011	#3300
2012	#3987
2013	#2403
2014	#2690
2015	#2707
2016	#3079
2017	#3040
2018	#4749
2019	#4702
2021	#3990

VerifiedSource: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales.Confidence: high.

See all England and Wales names · Source: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales

What the data shows

FallingEngland and Wales · Boys

Recorded in official data among boys in Republic of Ireland in 38 of the 47 years from 1965 to 2011.

In 2011: #623 among boys in Republic of Ireland, #3300 among boys in England and Wales.

Official data from 4 national registrars across 4 regions, 1965–2024 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1965
First recorded at #250 among boys in Republic of Ireland in 1965 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Republic of Ireland · Boys
Highest recorded1965–2011
Highest recorded position: #186 among boys in Republic of Ireland, in 1988 (recorded 1965–2011).
Republic of Ireland · Boys
Most recent2021
Most recently recorded at #3990 among boys in England and Wales, in 2021.
England and Wales · Boys

Iain appears in 3 of the published lists Namewise holds. The longest record is Republic of Ireland · Boys, which has ranked it in 38 years beginning in 1965, and has registered 274 births with the name.

Iain across 3 official records

Each registrar publishes its own list, so these figures are read down a row, never across one. A position in one country is not comparable with a position in another, and Namewise never combines them into a single ranking. The birth counts do not compare across rows either, for a different reason: England and Wales registers roughly thirty times as many births a year as Northern Ireland, so a larger total says which registrar recorded it as much as how widely the name was given.

Iain's first, highest and most recent recorded position in each official list, with the number of births each registrar registered with the name and its largest single year
Published list	First recorded	Highest	Most recent	Years recorded	Births registered	Most in one year
Republic of Ireland · Boys	#250 (1965)	#186 (1988)	#623 (2011)	38 of 47	274 (1965–2011)	13 (1995)
England and Wales · Boys	#319 (1996)	#319 (1996)	#3990 (2021)	25 of 26	517 (1996–2021)	76 (1996)
Northern Ireland · Boys	#271 (1997)	#221 (1998)	#315 (2007)	5 of 11	18 (1997–2007)	5 (1998)

Iain by decade in Republic of Ireland · Boys

Births registered with the name in each decade of this one list, with the number of years the list covers in that decade. Bars are scaled on births a year, which is the figure that compares between decades — a decade the list only partly covers has a smaller total without being a quieter decade. Figures belong to this registrar alone and do not carry to another.

Births registered with Iain in Republic of Ireland · Boys, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1960s	11	3 of 10	4
1970s	64	9 of 10	7
1980sbusiest	83	10 of 10	8
1990s	73	9 of 10	8
2000s	39	6 of 10	7
2010s	4	1 of 10	4

Across Republic of Ireland · Boys, the 1980s were its busiest decade, averaging 8 births a year.

See the names Republic of Irelandhas recorded the most births with →

Iain appears in

Groupings this name qualifies for under their own stated rules, from the same official statistics shown above.

Popularity data

Official popularity data is available for 4 regions, from 1965 to 2024. Highest recorded position: #186 in Republic of Ireland in 1988.

Iain's recorded popularity observations by year, region and administrative category, including rank, registered births, source confidence and when each region's data was last reviewed.
Year	Region	Category	Rank	Births registered	Confidence	Status
2021	England and Wales	male	#3990	4	High	Verified
2019	England and Wales	male	#4702	3	High	Verified
2018	England and Wales	male	#4749	3	High	Verified
2017	England and Wales	male	#3040	6	High	Verified
2016	England and Wales	male	#3079	6	High	Verified
2015	England and Wales	male	#2707	7	High	Verified
2014	England and Wales	male	#2690	7	High	Verified
2013	England and Wales	male	#2403	8	High	Verified
2012	England and Wales	male	#3987	4	High	Verified
2011	England and Wales	male	#3300	5	High	Verified
2010	England and Wales	male	#3332	5	High	Verified
2009	England and Wales	male	#2126	9	High	Verified
2008	England and Wales	male	#1953	10	High	Verified
2007	England and Wales	male	#1885	10	High	Verified
2006	England and Wales	male	#1892	9	High	Verified
2005	England and Wales	male	#1299	15	High	Verified
2004	England and Wales	male	#815	26	High	Verified
2003	England and Wales	male	#889	22	High	Verified
2002	England and Wales	male	#805	23	High	Verified
2001	England and Wales	male	#433	49	High	Verified
2000	England and Wales	male	#515	38	High	Verified
1999	England and Wales	male	#471	44	High	Verified
1998	England and Wales	male	#398	55	High	Verified
1997	England and Wales	male	#331	73	High	Verified
1996	England and Wales	male	#319	76	High	Verified
2007	Northern Ireland	male	#315	4	High	Verified
2004	Northern Ireland	male	#305	3	High	Verified
2003	Northern Ireland	male	#299	3	High	Verified
1998	Northern Ireland	male	#221	5	High	Verified
1997	Northern Ireland	male	#271	3	High	Verified
2011	Republic of Ireland	male	#623	4	High	Verified
2008	Republic of Ireland	male	#698	3	High	Verified
2007	Republic of Ireland	male	#435	6	High	Verified
2003	Republic of Ireland	male	#375	5	High	Verified
2002	Republic of Ireland	male	#235	10	High	Verified
2001	Republic of Ireland	male	#297	6	High	Verified
2000	Republic of Ireland	male	#223	9	High	Verified
1999	Republic of Ireland	male	#266	6	High	Verified
1998	Republic of Ireland	male	#242	6	High	Verified
1997	Republic of Ireland	male	#261	7	High	Verified
1996	Republic of Ireland	male	#223	10	High	Verified
1995	Republic of Ireland	male	#191	13	High	Verified
1994	Republic of Ireland	male	#225	8	High	Verified
1993	Republic of Ireland	male	#223	8	High	Verified
1992	Republic of Ireland	male	#222	8	High	Verified
1991	Republic of Ireland	male	#230	7	High	Verified
1989	Republic of Ireland	male	#199	9	High	Verified
1988	Republic of Ireland	male	#186	11	High	Verified
1987	Republic of Ireland	male	#197	10	High	Verified
1986	Republic of Ireland	male	#203	10	High	Verified
1985	Republic of Ireland	male	#234	6	High	Verified
1984	Republic of Ireland	male	#217	8	High	Verified
1983	Republic of Ireland	male	#237	6	High	Verified
1982	Republic of Ireland	male	#223	8	High	Verified
1981	Republic of Ireland	male	#246	6	High	Verified
1980	Republic of Ireland	male	#222	9	High	Verified
1979	Republic of Ireland	male	#228	8	High	Verified
1978	Republic of Ireland	male	#283	4	High	Verified
1977	Republic of Ireland	male	#194	12	High	Verified
1976	Republic of Ireland	male	#222	8	High	Verified
1975	Republic of Ireland	male	#236	7	High	Verified
1974	Republic of Ireland	male	#227	8	High	Verified
1973	Republic of Ireland	male	#268	5	High	Verified
1972	Republic of Ireland	male	#279	4	High	Verified
1971	Republic of Ireland	male	#217	8	High	Verified
1969	Republic of Ireland	male	#270	4	High	Verified
1968	Republic of Ireland	male	#243	4	High	Verified
1965	Republic of Ireland	male	#250	3	High	Verified
2024	Scotland	male	#727	3	High	Verified

England and Wales hub — collected by Office for National Statistics
Northern Ireland hub — collected by NISRA
Republic of Ireland hub — collected by CSO Ireland
Scotland hub — collected by National Records of Scotland

See methodology and data sources for how popularity data is collected and what "confidence" means.

What the record shows

Recorded by 4 registrars between 1965 and 2024, ranked in 53 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #186, first reached in 1988.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 76 births, registered in England and Wales in 1996.

Its record falls into 6 separate stretches, with a longest absence of 2 years.

A second registrar first ranked it in 1996, and 59 years separate the first registrar to record it from the last.

Every figure here is counted from the seven official registrars Namewise holds. A position is only ever a place within the list that published it, and a record that thins or stops is a fact about what registrars printed — never about how many children received the name.

Where to go next

Records with a comparable body of evidence, so the catalogue can be read outward from this one. Each group states the rule it was selected by.

Next in the catalogue

The records either side of this one alphabetically.

Iacov · #718, 14y
Iago · #1407, 21y
Ian · #9, 77y
Ianis · #414, 16y

A comparable record

Records held by the same 4 registrars, over a similar number of ranked years, whose highest position is closest to this one. A similar body of evidence — never a claim that the names themselves are alike.

Lilli · #182, 52y
Simona · #191, 52y
Jennie · #192, 50y
Milena · #193, 55y

Also first recorded in the 1960s

Records whose earliest ranking in Namewise's registrar data also falls between 1960 and 1969.

Basil · #185, 40y
Domhnall · #185, 52y
Don · #187, 51y
Kilian · #184, 54y

Iain was ranked #186 in Republic of Ireland · Boys in 1988. These are the names immediately either side of it on that published list — a fact about the registrar's own output, not a similarity judgement.

Iain and the names beside it

Two names in the same published list are measured on the same scale, in the same year, by the same registrar — so these are positions that genuinely passed each other, not a similarity judgement. Drawn from the 2,573 names with a recorded popularity standing (common, familiar, uncommon), so a name outside that set could have passed Iain without appearing here.

Iain moved ahead of

Florence Compare
In 1988 they stood at #234 and #234 in Republic of Ireland · Boys; by 1989 that had become #199 and #307.
Ashley Compare
In 2010 they stood at #375 and #337 in Republic of Ireland · Boys; by 2011 that had become #623 and #730.
Geoffrey Compare
In 2010 they stood at #698 and #444 in Republic of Ireland · Boys; by 2011 that had become #623 and #730.
Roger Compare
In 1992 they stood at #222 and #222 in Republic of Ireland · Boys; by 1993 that had become #223 and #302.

Moved ahead of Iain

Aria Compare
In 2017 they stood at #3040 and #3449 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2018 that had become #4749 and #2445.
Theodor Compare
In 2009 they stood at #2126 and #2544 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2010 that had become #3332 and #1201.
Espen Compare
In 2017 they stood at #3040 and #3449 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2018 that had become #4749 and #2693.
Matheo Compare
In 2017 they stood at #3040 and #4812 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2018 that had become #4749 and #2693.

Moved the opposite way to Iain

Aaron Compare
Between 1965 and 2011 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Iain went from #250 to #623 while Aaron went from #222 to #16.
Adam Compare
Between 1965 and 2011 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Iain went from #250 to #623 while Adam went from #157 to #7.
Alexander Compare
Between 1965 and 2011 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Iain went from #250 to #623 while Alexander went from #115 to #49.
Benjamin Compare
Between 1965 and 2011 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Iain went from #250 to #623 while Benjamin went from #148 to #74.

Moved the same way as Iain

Adrian Compare
Between 1965 and 2011 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Iain went from #250 to #623 and Adrian from #62 to #125.
Alfred Compare
Between 1965 and 2011 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Iain went from #250 to #623 and Alfred from #167 to #540.
Arthur Compare
Between 1965 and 2011 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Iain went from #250 to #623 and Arthur from #91 to #170.
Denis Compare
Between 1965 and 2011 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Iain went from #250 to #623 and Denis from #24 to #165.

What's not yet available

Meaning
Origin
Pronunciation
Nicknames and spelling variants

Absence from this list does not mean the name isn't genuinely meaningful or widely used — only that Namewise hasn't sourced and reviewed that content yet. Absence from a specific year or geography above does not prove zero use there either; official statistics only publish names above a minimum threshold.

Official popularity data is available for 4 regions, from 1965 to 2024. Highest recorded position: #186 in Republic of Ireland in 1988. Source data last verified 2026-07-21.

Iain

Iain at a glance

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Iain across 3 official records

Iain by decade in Republic of Ireland · Boys

Iain appears in

Popularity data

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1960s

Names published alongside Iain

Iain and the names beside it

Iain moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Iain

Moved the opposite way to Iain

Moved the same way as Iain

Iain at a glance

Iain across 3 official records

Iain by decade in Republic of Ireland · Boys

Iain appears in

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1960s

Names published alongside Iain

Iain and the names beside it

Iain moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Iain

Moved the opposite way to Iain

Moved the same way as Iain