Given name & surname

Adrian

“man from Hadria”·“a man from Hadria”

Adrian is used as a given name and a surname. Interpretations include “man from Hadria” (Latin) and “a man from Hadria” (Latin). These may reflect different naming traditions.

Original LatinAdrianus

Find names like Adrian

Meaning & origin

What it means

Interpretations include “man from Hadria” (Latin) and “a man from Hadria” (Latin). These may reflect different naming traditions.

Where it comes from

A possible origin is Latin, although the derivation remains uncertain.

How it developed

In Norwegian usage, Adrian developed from Hadrianus.

The story

Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.

From dated birth records

Adrian through the years

Babies since 1880: 287,982; 272,265 boys · 15,717 girls
Most popular year: 2008; 8,100 babies
2025: 4,505; #74 for boys · #3,645 for girls
2021–25 vs 2016–20: −19%; Easing

Boys Girls

Adrian in U.S. Social Security birth records, 1880–2025, per million births of each sex. Years with fewer than five births for a sex are not published and appear as zero. Use the arrow keys to step through years.

Boys, girls and both

The balance of boys and girls given this name has shifted over time. Recent births are 99% boys.

Boys Girls

Five-year rolling share of U.S. births. Blank stretches had too few births to read.

Where it’s given

Most at home inNevada, New Mexico, California

FewerMore, relative to births Not published

2025 births by state of birth. Tiles are equal-sized so small states stay visible. Highest rates: Nevada (70), New Mexico (37), California (869), Arizona (148), Connecticut (55).

By the numbers

In 2025, this name appeared in 4,464 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 74 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 18.8% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 7,938 in 2008. It also appeared in 41 birth records for girls in 2025. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (869). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 241,093 as a first name in 2020; 5,058 as a surname in 2020.

From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.

Adrian’s family of names

In English usage, Adrian has a diminutive in Addie. In English usage, Adrian shares an earlier linguistic root with Adriana. In German usage, Adrian has a conventional equivalent in the English form Adrianne.

Walk Adrian’s family in the name graph

Around the world

Adrian has relatives in 33 languages. Lines run from its Latin roots to each of them.

Latinwhere Adrian comes from · 2 names

Each dot marks where a language is rooted, not where people with the name live today. Bigger dots hold more names. Dots on the border stand for languages further away. Language locations from Glottolog (CC BY 4.0); map from Natural Earth.

Nicknames & forms 41

Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.

Show 33 moreShow fewer

Spellings & scripts 1

The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.

Адрианin another script · Bulgarian, Russian

Across languages 44

Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.

Show 36 moreShow fewer

People named Adrian

Characters named Adrian: Adrian Monk (fictional American private investigator), Adrian Shephard (Half-Life series), Adrian Veidt (Watchmen character), Adrian Pennino (the Rocky series).

Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.

Appears in

Similar names

If you love Adrian, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.

Latin

Sibling ideas

Names that share Adrian’s feel without repeating its first letter or rhyming with it.

A brother for Adrian

A sister for Adrian

Your shortlist