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Ian

Ian is a male given name: 100% of people named Ian are men, and it is recorded as male in 4 of the 4 countries covered.

MaleHigh
Male 100%Female 0%
Verdict
Male
Male / female split
100% male / 0% female
Confidence
High (64 or more weighted country observations)
Most common in
United States, Great Britain, Ireland
US births since 1880
222,202 male / 748 female
Data
nam_dict (GFDL) + US SSA
Updated
2026-09-11

How to address Ian

When you do not know their gender for certain, the full name with no title is the safe choice: "Dear Ian," in English, "Guten Tag Ian," in German. Ian is a male given name: about 100% of people named Ian are men. A quick look at a profile confirms it for certain.

Ready-made greetings in six languages

English

Dear Ian,

German

Guten Tag Ian,

French

Bonjour Ian,

Spanish

Estimado/a Ian:

Chinese

Ian您好：

Japanese

Ian様

English

Hi Ian,

German

Hi Ian,

French

Salut Ian,

Spanish

Hola Ian,

Chinese

Ian你好：

Japanese

Ianさん

Greeting generator

This is a statistical estimate, not a statement about the gender, identity or correct form of address of any particular person.

Country breakdown

Gender of the name Ian by country (nam_dict, 55 country columns)
CountryHow commonUsuallyMale share
United Statesvery commonman's name100%
Great Britaincommonman's name98%
Irelanduncommonman's name98%
Maltauncommonman's name98%

United States birth data

222,202 male · 748 female · 222,950 births recorded

Male 100%Female 0%

Since 1980: 100% male.

Frequently asked questions

Is Ian a male or female name?

Ian is a male given name: 100% of people named Ian are men, and it is recorded as male in 4 of the 4 countries covered.

How do I address Ian in an email?

When you do not know their gender for certain, the full name with no title is the safe choice: "Dear Ian," in English, "Guten Tag Ian," in German. Ian is a male given name: about 100% of people named Ian are men. A quick look at a profile confirms it for certain.

Is Ian a unisex name?

Ian is not a unisex name: 100% of people named Ian are men. Ian leans strongly male overall.

Related names

MariaFemaleAnnaFemaleMarieFemalePeterMaleJeanDepends on the countryAlexanderMaleDavidMaleJoseMale

Sources

Gender by country: nam_dict, the c't first-names dictionary by Joerg Michael, roughly 44,000 names across 55 countries, licensed GFDL. US frequencies: United States Social Security Administration baby-name data, public domain. Method: how we classify names. Full dataset: data & licences. Data built 2026-09-11.

Cite this page

DearWho, "Is Ian a male or female name?", https://dearwho.vercel.app/name/ian (accessed 2026-09-11). Data: nam_dict (J. Michael, GFDL) and US SSA, built 2026-09-11.

BibTeX
@misc{dearwho_ian,
  title  = {Is Ian a male or female name?},
  author = {{DearWho}},
  year   = {2026},
  url    = {https://dearwho.vercel.app/name/ian},
  note   = {Data: nam_dict (GFDL), US SSA public domain}
}