boy's name
Aiden
AY-den
- Origin Irish
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 2
- Letters 5
- Popularity Top 100 (US)
- Births on record 303,939
the United States
#62
2025 births
Aiden is a boy's name of Irish origin meaning "little fire," an Anglicized form of Aodhán. Aodh was a Celtic sun and fire god, and the name belongs to a seventh-century Irish monk who founded the monastery on Lindisfarne.
- Aiden is a name of Irish origin.
- Peaked in 2009, when 16,143 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 654 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1970.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 2.
Aiden over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1970s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1970s | 25 |
| 1980s | 87 |
| 1990s | 1,801 |
| 2000s | 84,683 |
| 2010s | 130,322 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 42,994 |
What Aiden means
Aiden means little fire, formed from Aodh, meaning fire, with the Irish diminutive -án. Aodh was the name of a pre-Christian Celtic deity associated with fire and the sun, so the name carries a pagan root beneath its later Christian bearers.
Where Aiden comes from
Aiden anglicizes the Irish Aodhán, a diminutive of Aodh, meaning fire. Aodh was among the most common names in early medieval Ireland and was borne by a Celtic fire god before Christianity. Saint Aidan of Lindisfarne, an Irish monk sent from Iona in 635, established the monastery that became the center of Christianity in Northumbria, which carried the name into England. Its modern prominence is American and recent: Aiden rose sharply through the 1990s and 2000s, and its ending became productive on its own, generating Jayden, Brayden, Kayden and Zayden — a family of names formed by rhyme rather than by descent.
Aiden in use
Aiden is the source of an entire family of modern names — the -ayden ending detached and became productive in its own right.
How popular is Aiden?
In 2025, Aiden was given to 5,073 babies in the United States, ranking #62 that year. It is one of the most popular names in the United States.
Where Aiden is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
How Aiden is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Aïden | Aïden is Aiden written with a diaeresis, used in France, where it ranks #423. | 2,000 |
Names that peaked alongside Aiden
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Aiden also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Aiden over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Aiden in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Aiden
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Aiden — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Aiden
What does the name Aiden mean?
Aiden means "little fire," from the Irish Aodh, meaning fire.
Who was Saint Aidan?
An Irish monk who founded the monastery on Lindisfarne in 635 and spread Christianity through Northumbria.
Is Aiden related to Jayden and Brayden?
Only by rhyme. Those names were formed by substituting a consonant onto Aiden's ending.
How popular is the name Aiden?
In 2025, Aiden was given to 5,073 babies in the United States, ranking #62 that year. It is one of the most popular names in the United States.
Is Aiden a girl's or a boy's name?
Aiden is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Aiden?
Aiden has 2 syllables.
When was Aiden most popular?
Aiden peaked in 2009, when 16,143 babies were given the name. It has been falling over the past decade.
Is Aiden a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Aiden currently ranks #55 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.