Ivan

Did you know?

A few things about Ivan you might not know, from US birth records and Wikipedia. Handy for convincing a partner, or a grandparent.

⭐ Famous Ivan

Ivan Turgenev

Russian writer (1818–1883)

Choose Ivan and your child shares a first name with Ivan Turgenev, a Russian writer. A ready-made answer when someone asks “Ivan, like who?” Ivan Turgenev's Wikipedia article is available in 153 languages, a good sign of just how widely known they are.

Read about Ivan Turgenev on Wikipedia ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Photo: Ilya Repin, Public domain (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons

• 👶How commonAbout 1 in every 763 baby boys born in the US in 2025 was named Ivan, 2,240 babies in all. In a typical school of 500 kids, your Ivan would very likely be the only one.
• 📜HistoryIvan has been in use since at least 1880, the first year US birth records were kept. That's 145 years of Ivans, and counting.
• 🏆Best yearIts best year was 2012, when it reached #113.
• 📍Where it's lovedIvan is most popular in Arizona, where it ranks #65, followed by California (#85) and Oregon (#94). It makes the top 1,000 in almost every state.
• 💬MeaningIvan is a Russian form of John, which means “God is gracious”.

About the name Ivan

Ivan is a boy name meaning “God is gracious”. It has 4 letters and 2 syllables, starting with I and ending in “-van”. US birth records list Ivan for boys from 1880 to 2025, in 146 of those 146 years. Its best year was 2012, when it ranked #113 among boy names. In 2025 it ranked #162, with 2,240 babies.