Given name & surname

Ioan

“God is gracious”

Ioan is a variant of Ioanis. In Russian use, Ioanis carries the interpretation “God is gracious.”

Meaning & origin

What it means

Ioan is a variant of Ioanis. In Russian use, Ioanis carries the interpretation “God is gracious.”

Explained through its name family

Where it comes from

Ioan is a variant of Ion. An origin associated with Ion is Greek.

Explained through its name family

How it developed

In Romanian usage, Ioan developed from Ἰωάννης.

The story

Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1917. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. Ioan is a variant of Ion. The history of Ion gives this family its wider story. In mythological stories, Ion is associated with the son of Apollo.

Combines direct and name-family evidence

Ioan through the years

Babies since 1880
137
132 boys · 5 girls
Most popular year
2014
11 babies
2025
6
#11,185 for boys
2021–25 vs 2016–20
+100%
Rising fast
Boys Girls
0246192019401960198020002025Highest share 2014Boys 3.5Girls 0.0
Ioan in U.S. Social Security birth records, 1917–2025, 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.

By the numbers

In 2025, this name appeared in 6 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 11,185 among boys’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Its largest published annual count for boys was 11 in 2014. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 1,908 as a first name in 2020.

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

Ioan’s family of names

In Romanian usage, Ioan developed from the Ancient Greek form Ἰωάννης. In Welsh usage, Ioan has a conventional equivalent in the English form John. In Romanian usage, Ioan has a conventional equivalent in the Spanish form Juan.

Walk Ioan’s family in the name graph

IoanJohannesIonIwanIeuanIoanisIfanIonescuJackJohnJuanSeanJeanIanGiovanniEvanJohnnyJoanJonJanGianniJohanGianHansJoaoJohannIoannisGiannisYannisYanniYiannisYann

Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.

Hover or tab through the constellation to see how each name is related. Bigger dots are names more people in the U.S. share.

Around the world

Ioan has relatives in 11 languages.

WelshGermanRomanianChinese

15 related names in 11 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.

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.

Similar names

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

Gaelic · Celtic

Connor

“lover of hounds” · “a wolf-lover”

74CommonCooling

>99% boys

Mythological

Iren

“peace”

0Not recently recorded

94% boys · 6% girls

Greek · Mythological

Dmitri

“a follower of the goddess Demeter”

27RareEasing

>99% boys

Greek · Mythological

Achilles

Achilles is a masculine given name from Latin, ultimately from Ancient Greek. It is used in English, Polish, Cebuano, and Kashubian.

44UncommonEasing

>99% boys

Gaelic · Celtic

Killian

“a warrior woman; of the church” · “one who is small and fierce”

63FamiliarEasing

98% boys · 2% girls

Welsh · Literary

Wyn

“one who is fair; of the white wave” · “one who is fairskinned”

25RareRising fast

82% boys · 18% girls

Latin · Mythological

Titus

“of the giants” · “a great defender”

64FamiliarEasing

>99% boys

Irish · Celtic

Aidan

“one who is fiery; little fire” · “a fiery young man”

66FamiliarEasing

99% boys · 1% girls

Sibling ideas

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

A brother for Ioan

A sister for Ioan