unisex name · in the US
Ayan
ah-YAHN (English)
- Origin Arabic
- Gender Unisex (US)
- Syllables 2
- Letters 4
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 11,333
the United States
#762
2025 births
Ayan is a name with two unrelated origins. In Arabic it means "time" or "era"; in Somali it is a well-established girl's name meaning "bright" or "lucky" — so it reaches Britain as two names of opposite gender.
- Ayan is a name of Arabic origin.
- Peaked in 2025, when 361 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 9,184 babies in the United States is given this name.
- Ayan started out as a girls' name and is now given almost entirely to boys.
- First appears in US birth records in 1975.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 2.
Ayan Over Time
Births per decade in the United States, 1970s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, which so far covers 2020 to 2025.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1970s | 5 |
| 1980s | 10 |
| 1990s | 184 |
| 2000s | 823 |
| 2010s | 2,102 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 1,818 |
What Ayan Means
Ayan means time or epoch in its Arabic reading, from a word for an appointed hour. The Somali Ayan is a separate name meaning good fortune or brightness, and there it is overwhelmingly female.
Where Ayan Comes From
The Arabic Ayan relates to a word for time or an appointed hour, and South Asian Muslim usage often glosses it further as God's gift — a popular reading rather than a strict derivation. The Somali Ayan is a separate name from a root for luck or fortune, and is common enough there that Ayaan Hirsi Ali is its best-known bearer. Because Somali usage is female and South Asian usage male, the same spelling arrives in Britain as two names, which is why it is recorded as unisex.
Ayan in Use
Birth records record Ayan for both sexes and shows it peaking in 2025 and still rising, at 201 in England and Wales against 762 in the United States. It first appears in birth records in 1975. Ayaan, the double-a spelling we hold separately, sits at 118 — the two forms of one sound eighty places apart.
How Popular Is Ayan?
In 2025, Ayan was given to 361 babies in the United States, ranking #762 that year. It ranks among the top 1,000 names in the United States.
Where Ayan 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.
Names That Peaked Alongside Ayan
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents Who Like Ayan Also Like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Ayan over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Boys' or Girls' Name?
Ayan is used differently depending on where you are. Each figure is the share of babies given the name who were girls, over the last ten years of that country's records.
- United States Both 10% girls · 2,753 babies
- England & Wales Boys' 3% girls · 2,047 babies
- France Boys' 1% girls · 1,765 babies
- Canada Boys' 5% girls · 651 babies
- Ireland Boys' 3% girls · 97 babies
- Scotland Boys' 0% girls · 68 babies
How to Say Ayan
- English ah-YAHN /aːˈjaːn/
Ayan 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.
- Japanese
- Ayana
Sibling Names for Ayan
Names from the same era that do not rhyme or share an initial with Ayan — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common Questions About Ayan
What does the name Ayan mean?
"Time" or "era" in Arabic. In Somali it is a separate name meaning "bright" or "lucky."
Is Ayan a boy's or a girl's name?
It depends on the community — male in South Asian Muslim families, female in Somali ones.
What is the difference between Ayan and Ayaan?
Only spelling. Ayaan sits at 118 in England and Wales against Ayan at 201.
How popular is the name Ayan?
In 2025, Ayan was given to 361 babies in the United States, ranking #762 that year. It ranks among the top 1,000 names in the United States.
How many syllables are in Ayan?
Ayan has 2 syllables.
When was Ayan most popular?
Ayan peaked in 2025, when 361 babies were given the name. It has been rising over the past decade.
Is Ayan a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Ayan currently ranks #176 in the United States. It has been rising over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.