411 REFERENCE · Wikibooks
Human names/Ian
Reference material by Wikibooks contributors. This retains its source identity and is not 411 news reporting.
The name Ian is a masculine name of Scottish origin, the Gaelic form of John, derived from the Hebrew "Yochanan," meaning "God is gracious" or "gift from God". Popular in English-speaking countries, it's known for its simplicity and is associated with intelligence, kindness, and heritage.
Famous people
Ian Agol (born 1970), American mathematician
Ian Anderson (born 1947), lead of rock band Jethro Tull
Ian Astbury (born 1962), singer of rock band The Cult
Ian Bairnson (1953–2023), Scottish guitarist of The Alan Parsons Project and Pilot
Ian Baker-Finch (born 1960), Australian golfer and 1991 British Open winner
Ian Balding (1938-2026), British racehorse trainer
Ian Bannen (1928–1999), British actor
Ian Bazalgette (1918–1944), Canadian-British recipient of the Victoria Cross
Ian Beausoleil-Morrison, American aerospace engineer
Ian Bell (born 1982), English cricketer
Sir Ian Blair (1953–2025), British head of the Metropolitan Police Service
Ian Bogost, American video game designer and academic
Ian Bohen (born 1976), American actor
Ian Bolton (born 1953), English footballer
Ian Book (born 1998), American football player
Sir Ian Botham (born 1955), English cricketer
Ian Brady (Ian Duncan Stewart, 1938–2017), convicted for the Moors murders in England in the 1960s
Ian Bremmer (born 1969), political scientist, author, entrepreneur
Ian Broudie (born 1958), English singer in The Lightning Seeds, and music producer
Ian Brown (born 1963), singer and lyricist in The Stone Roses
Ian Bunting (born 1996), American football player
Ian Callaghan (born 1942), English footballer
Ian Callum (born 1954), British design director for Jaguar
Ian Carmichael (1920–2010), English actor
Ian S. E. Carmichael (1930–2011), American volcanologist
Ian Carroll (born 2000), American ethical hacker and security researcher
Ian "iDubbbz" Carter (born 1990), American YouTube personality
Ian Chan (born 1993), Hong Kong singer-songwriter and actor
Ian Brackenbury Channell, birth name of The Wizard of New Zealand (born 1932), educator, comedian, magician, and politician
Ian Chappell (born 1943), Australian cricketer
Ian Charleson (1949–1990), Scottish/British actor
Ian Clyde (born 1956), Canadian boxer
Ian Cole (born 1989), American hockey player
Ian Collier (1943–2008), singer and actor
Ian Colquhoun, New Zealand cricketer
Ian Colquhoun (author), Scottish actor and writer
Ian James Corlett (born 1962), cartoon writer and voice actor, creator of Being Ian
Ian Crocker (born 1982), swimmer
Ian Curteis (1935-2021), English television writer
Ian Curtis (1956–1980), singer and lyricist in Joy Division
Ian Dalrymple (1903–1989), British filmmaker
Ian Danskin, American YouTuber
Ian Desmond (born 1985), American Major League Baseball shortstop
Ian Stuart Donaldson (1957–1993), English vocalist and frontman of British neo-Nazi band Skrewdriver
Ian Dunn (activist) (1943–1998), Scottish gay and paedophile rights activist
Ian Dunn (rugby union) (born 1960), New Zealand rugby union player
Ian Dury (1942–2000), British singer and songwriter
Ian Eagle (born 1969), American sports announcer
Ian Edmond (born 1978), British swimmer
Ian Erix, American singer-songwriter
Ian Escobar (born 1996), Argentine footballer
Ian Falconer (1959–2023), American author and illustrator
Ian Flanagan (born 1982), Welsh tennis player
Ian Fleming (1908–1964), British novelist, creator of James Bond
Ian Flynn (born 1982), American comic book writer
Ian Forrest (born 1950), British racing driver
Ian Frazier (born 1951), American writer and humorist
Ian Froman (born 1937), South African-born Israeli tennis player and tennis patron
Ian George (artist) (1953–2016), Cook Islands artist
Ian Gibbons (musician) (1952–2019), English keyboardist, member of The Kinks
Ian Gillan (born 1945), English lead singer of hard rock band Deep Purple
Ian Glavinovich (born 2001), Argentine footballer
Ian Gleed (1916–1943), English Royal Air Force flying ace and one of the Few
Ian Gold (born 1978), American football player
Ian Gomm (born 1947), British guitarist and singer
Ian Goodfellow (born 1987), Director of Machine Learning in the Special Projects Group at Apple computer
Ian Gow (1937–1990), British Member of Parliament assassinated by IRA terrorists
Ian Gregson (athlete) (born 1962), Canadian actor, musician, activist
Ian Greig (born 1955), English cricketer, brother of Tony Greig
Ian Grist (1938–2002), British politician
Ian Gunther (born 1999), American gymnastics creator
Ian Hall (musician) (1940–2022), Guyanese-born British musician and composer
Ian Hallard (born 1974), British actor
Ian Hanlin, Canadian voice actor
Ian Hanomansing, Canadian journalist and news anchor
Ian Harding (born 1986), American actor
Ian Hart (born 1964), English actor
Ian Haugland (born 1964 as Jan-Håkan Haugland), Norwegian-born Swedish drummer for the band Europe
Ian Healy (born 1964), Australian wicket-keeper
Ian Hecox (born 1987), American comedian with Smosh
Ian Henderson (footballer) (born 1985), English footballer
Ian Henderson (news presenter) (born 1953), Australian news presenter
Ian Henderson (police officer) (1927–2013), former head of secret police in Bahrain, accused of torture
Ian Henderson (rugby league) (born 1983), Scottish rugby hooker who plays in Australia
Ian Hennessy (born 1967), Irish soccer player
Ian Hill (born 1951), bassist for metal band Judas Priest
Ian Hislop (born 1960), British satirist and editor of Private Eye
Ian Ho (born 1997), Hong Kong freestyle swimmer
Sir Ian Holm (1931–2020), British actor
Ian Holmes (footballer, born 1950)
Ian Holmes (runner) (born 1965), English runner
Ian Holmes (footballer, born 1985)
Ian Hornak (1944–2002), painter
Ian Hunter (actor) (1900–1975), English actor
Ian Hunter (singer) (born 1939), English singer of Mott the Hoople
Ian McLellan Hunter (1915–1991), English screenwriter best known as the front for the blacklisted Dalton Trumbo and who later found himself blacklisted
Ian Huntley (born 1974), double murderer
Ian Jacobs (oncologist) (born 1957), English academic, gynaecological oncologist, gynaecologist/obstetrician
Ian Jacobs, Australian kickboxer and 3-time World Kickboxing Champion
Ian James (athlete) (born 1963), Olympic athlete
Ian Jones-Quartey (born 1984), animator
Ian Joyce (born 1985), American soccer player
Ian Kahn (born 1972), American actor
Ian Karmel (born 1984), American stand-up comedian and writer
Ian Keith (1899–1960), American actor
Ian Kennedy (born 1984), Major League Baseball pitcher
Ian Kennelly (born 2001), American football player
Ian Kershaw (born 1943), English historian
Ian "Lemmy" Kilmister (1945–2015), singer/bass player in Motörhead
Ian Kinsler (born 1982), Israeli-American Major League Baseball All Star second baseman
Ian "Vaush" Kochinski (born 1994), American YouTuber and livestreamer
Ian Koziara, American operatic tenor
Ian Krankie (born 1947), Scottish entertainer
Ian Laperrière (born 1974), Canadian-American hockey player
Ian Lavender (1946–2024), English actor
Ian Law (born 1938), Australian rules footballer
Ian Levy (born 1966), British Conservative MP for Blyth Valley since 2019
Ian Hideo Levy (born 1950), American author
Ian Oswald Liddell (1919–1945), recipient of the Victoria Cross
Ian Livingstone (born 1949), author
Ian Lorimer, British television director
Ian Lucas (born 1960), British politician
Ian MacArthur (1925–2007), British politician
Ian MacDonald (1948–2003), English author
Ian Macdonald (barrister) (1939–2019)
Ian MacKaye (born 1962), musician
Ian Mahinmi (born 1986), basketball player
Ian Malcolm (politician) (1868–1944), Member of Parliament (1910–1919)
Ian Martin (disambiguation), multiple people
Ian Matos (1989–2021), Brazilian diver
Ian Matthews (drummer) (born 1971), drummer for Kasabian
Ian Maxtone-Graham (born 1959), television writer and producer
Ian McAteer (born 1961), former gangster from Glasgow
Ian McCaskill (1938–2016), weather forecaster
Ian McCulloch (actor) (born 1939), actor
Ian McCulloch (singer) (born 1959), British singer in the band Echo & the Bunnymen
Ian McCulloch (snooker player) (born 1971), snooker player
Ian McDiarmid (born 1944), Scottish actor
Ian McDonald (musician) (1946–2022), British musician, best known for being a member of both King Crimson and Foreigner (band)
Ian McEwan (born 1948), English novelist and screenwriter
Ian McKay (1953–1982), English recipient of the Victoria Cross
Sir Ian McKellen (born 1939), English actor
Ian McLagan (1945–2014), English musician, best known for being a member of both Small Faces and Faces (band)
Ian McMillan (footballer) (1931–2024), Scottish footballer
Ian McMillan (poet) (born 1956)
Ian McShane (born 1942), actor
Ian Messiter (1920–1999), English creator of Just a Minute
Ian Miles (born 1952), Australian rules footballer
Ian Monk (1960–2025), British writer and translator
Ian Moran (cricketer) (born 1979), Australian cricketer
Ian Moran (born 1972), American hockey player
Ian Morris (cricketer) (born 1946), Welsh cricketer
Ian Morris (musician) (1957–2010), New Zealand musician
Ian Morris (historian) (born 1960), British historian
Ian Morris (athlete) (born 1961), Trinidadian athlete
Ian Morris (footballer) (born 1987), Irish footballer
Ian Morrison (journalist) (1913–1950), Australian journalist
Ian Morrison (RNZAF officer) (1914–1997), senior officer of the Royal New Zealand Air Force
Ian "Scotty" Morrison (born 1930), former National Hockey League referee and vice president
Ian Morrison (footballer) (born 1954), Australian rules footballer
Sir Ian Morrow (1912–2006), British accountant and politician
Ian Morton (born 1970), English cricketer
Ian Mosley (born 1953), drummer for Marillion
Ian Moss (born 1955), Australian musician, Cold Chisel
Ian Murdock (1973–2015), computer professional, creator of the Debian project
Ian Nepomniachtchi (born 1990), Russian chess grandmaster
Ian Ormondroyd, English footballer
Ian O'Brien (born 1947), swimmer
Ian O'Neill Smith (born 2005), rapper known as ian
Ian Paice (born 1948), drummer of Deep Purple
Ian Paisley (1926–2014), Protestant politician
Ian Pearson (badminton) (born 1974), English badminton player
Ian Peck (born 1957), English cricketer
Ian Pinard, Dominican politician
Ian Pooley (born 1973), German DJ
Ian Poulter (born 1976), English professional golfer
Ian Punnett (born 1960), American radio broadcaster and priest
Ian Rankin (born 1960), Scottish novelist
Ian Reed (1927–2020), Australian discus thrower
Ian Richardson (1934–2007), Scottish actor
Ian Roberts (educator) (born 1973), Guyanese-American educator and former Olympic athlete
Ian Rush (born 1961), Welsh footballer
Ian Sanders (born 1961), cricketer for Edinburgh, Scotland
Ian Sangalang (born 1991), Filipino professional basketball player
Ian Scheckter (born 1947), former South African F1 driver
Ian Schieffelin (born 2003), American basketball and football player
Ian Shaw (actor) (born 1969)
Ian Smith (1919–2007), Prime Minister of Rhodesia 1964–1979
Ian Snell (born 1981), American Major League Baseball pitcher
Ian Somerhalder (born 1978), actor
Ian Stanley (born 1957), British musician
Ian Stannard (born 1987), English cyclist
Ian Stevenson Webster (1925–2002), British judge
Ian Stone, English comedian
Ian Subiabre (born 2007), Argentine footballer
Ian Suttie (1945-2025), Scottish businessman
Ian Svenonius (born 1968), American musician
Ian Tattersall, (born 1945), American paleoanthropologist
Ian Thornley (born 1972), Canadian musician
Ian Thorpe (born 1982), Australian swimmer
Ian "Sam" Totman (born 1979), British guitarist
Ian Tracey (born 1964), Canadian actor
Ian Tyson (1933–2022), Canadian singer-songwriter
Ian Van Dahl, Belgian artist
Ian Veneracion (born 1975), Filipino actor, athlete, pilot, and singer
Ian Voigt, American sound engineer
Ian Walker (sailor) (born 1970), British sailor
Ian Waltz (born 1977), American discus thrower
Ian Watkins (Lostprophets singer) (1977–2025), Welsh lead singer of the alternative metal band Lostprophets, and convicted pedophile
Ian "H" Watkins (born 1976), British pop singer and actor, former member of Steps
Ian Weatherhead (born 1932), English watercolor artist
Ian Webster (born 1986), English footballer
Ian West (born 1951), Australian politician
Sir Ian Wilmut (1944–2023), English embryologist, best known for cloning Dolly the sheep
Ian Wingrove (1942–2023), British-American visual effects artist
Ian Wolfe (1896–1992), American actor
Ian Wolstenholme (born 1943), English football player and manager
Ian Woosnam (born 1958), Welsh golfer
Ian Wright (born 1963), English footballer
Ian Donald Calvin Euclid Zappa, birth name of American musician Dweezil Zappa (born 1969)
Ian Ziering (born 1964), American actor