Aidan is an anglicised version of the Irish male given name Aodhán. The Irish language female equivalent is Aodhnait.
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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 (see Aed).
Formerly common only in Ireland, Scotland and Wales, the name and its variants have become popular in England, the United States, Canada, and Australia. In the 2010s, Aiden rose to the 13th most popular name in the United States as the given name of 129,433 boys, while Aidan ranked 156th as the given name of 25,399 boys. In the 2000s, Aiden was 54th most popular name in the United States as the given name of 83,527 boys while Aidan ranked 55th having been bestowed on 76,493 boys. Other variants are less popular, such as Hayden 87th, Ayden 156th, 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. Aiden was the 38th most popular name given to boys in Canada in 2022.
Its popularity is also reflected in the occurrence of similar-sounding names such as Braden, Caden, Hayden, and Jadon.
Aidan (or any reasonable variant) 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.
Notable people with the given name
Fictional characters
"Aidan" (The Inside episode), the title of episode 9 of the American television series The Inside
Aidan Brosnan, fictional character played by Sean Maguire in the British soap opera EastEnders
Aiden Burn, fictional female character in the American television series CSI: NY
Aiden Dennison, fictional character in the American television series South of Nowhere
Aidan Devane, fictional character played by Aiden Turner in the American soap opera All My Children
Aidan R. Fiero, fictional character played by Zanjoe Marudo in the Filipino drama series Dirty Linen
Aiden Ford, fictional character in the Canadian television series Stargate Atlantis
Aidan Foster, fictional character in the Australian soap opera Neighbours
Aiden Lucas, fictional character in the American television series Ghost Whisperer
Aidan Lynch, fictional character in the novel Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling
Aiden Pearce, protagonist in the video game Watch Dogs
Aidan Shaw, fictional character played by John Corbett in the American television series Sex and the City
Aidan Waite, fictional character in the American Syfy drama/horror Being Human