Aidan


Aidan is a modern version of a number of Celtic language names, including the Irish male given name Aodhán, the Scottish Gaelic given name Aodhàn and the Cymraeg name Aeddan. Phonetic variants, such as spelled with an ‘e’ instead of an ‘a’, are appropriated and haven’t been prevalent until generations after the 19th century Irish Great Migration. The Irish language female equivalent is Aodhnait.

Etymology and spelling

The name is derived from the name Aodhán, which is a pet form of Aodh. The personal name Aodh means "fiery" and/or "bringer of fire" and was the name of a Celtic sun god.
Formerly common only in Ireland, Scotland and Wales, the name and its variants have become popular in England, the United States, and Canada. Aidan has been the 57th most popular name in the United States since the start of the year 2000, bestowed on over 62,000 boys, while Aiden ranking 66th, has been used on over 51,000 boys. Other variants are a bit less popular, such as Hayden 88th, Ayden 189th, Aden 333rd, Aydan 808th, and Aydin 960th, according to the United States Social Security Database. "Aidan/Aiden" was the most popular boys' name in Canada in 2007.
Its popularity is also reflected in the occurrence of similar-sounding names such as Braden, Caden, Hayden, and Jayden.
Aidan as a girl's name does not appear in the top one thousand names for girls from the same database, although it has occasionally been used for girls.

Given name

Middle Ages