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Ion

#6,246 in 2025Boys' name

Multiple documented origins; meaning depends on tradition

Ion has been given to 314 babies in the U.S. since 1928. In 2025 it ranked #6,246 of 13,926 boys’ names in use. Its peak year was 2023, with 15 recorded.

Babies named Ion, 2025

1 in 237,000

Ion over time, 1880–2025

Boys
05101518801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Ion: meaning, origin, and history

Multiple documented origins; meaning depends on tradition

Hebrew

What Ion means

Ion has more than one naming route in the cited origin entries: distinct naming traditions.

The naming story behind Ion

A separate documented entry treats Ion as a form of Iohannes. That is a personal-name relationship, which differs from translating the letters of the modern spelling into one universal English word. The linked origin entry identifies the context of this relationship.

Origin, language, and formation

Ion is used in Romanian. Its origins include Hebrew.

Ion comes through Old Church Slavonic Іѡаннъ, Ancient Greek Ἰωάννης and Hebrew יוֹחָנָן.

Related names and everyday forms

Related names include John and יוֹחָנָן.

Pronunciation and spelling

In Romanian, Ion is pronounced /iˈon/.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 314 boys were recorded with the name Ion between 1928 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 15 in 2023; its best national rank was #3,740 in 1969.

Over 5 years its rank rose, from #6,770 in 2020 to #6,246 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank rose, from #7,246 in 2015 to #6,246 in 2025.

Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution

Meaning, origin, and language notes draw on the references below.

American popularity figures use published Social Security Administration records for this exact spelling. Counts below five for a name, sex, and year are omitted.

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

How common is Ion?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 237,000
14 of 3,315,165 births
Among boys only
1 in 122,000
<0.01% of boys
Rank, 2025
#6,246
of 13,926 boys’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
164,137 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Ion sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Liam (20,818)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 100Under 1%
School of 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 164,137 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Ion. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Ions were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Ion was born before 2008 — so the typical Ion is around 17 today.

Median birth year
2008
About 17 years old
Biggest decade
2010s
27.7% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
61.8%
A modern name
Recorded since 1950
309
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

2010s — 27.7% of all recorded uses (87).

Is Ion rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
+2,345
Places climbed
Rank vs 5 years ago
+524
Places climbed
Rank vs 10 years ago
+1,000
Places climbed
Births vs 10 years ago
1.27×
More babies than then
Share of its own peak
93.3%
Peak was 2023 (15)
Years since peak
2
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Volatile
38.2% average annual change
Best rank ever
#3,740
1969

Ion around the world

Where Ion ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    2002–2025
    #2,952
    in 2025
  • Ireland
    2002–2002
    #393
    in 2002
  • France
    1987–2025
    #2,701
    in 2025
  • Canada
    1999–2019
    #2,943
    in 2019
  • South Australia
    1944–2010
    #754
    in 2010

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics, Central Statistics Office, Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques, Statistics Canada and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). ONS data under Open Government Licence v3.0. CSO, CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0. INSEE data under Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0. StatCan data under Statistics Canada Open Licence.

Ion by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#6,246
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Up 524
Best rank ever
#3,740
1969
Peak year
2023
15 that year
First recorded
1928
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
314
Count in 2025
14

Names similar to Ion

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

TionLionEionAzionElionJaionTyionKyionSionXionTzionKaionErionKionRionJazionShionLegionZorionJulionNationGionKvionZarion

Sibling names for Ion

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Ion

Top names of 2023, Ion's peak yearThe 2020s in fullOther names that peaked in 1969Boys' names starting with IRomanian Boy NamesRomanian Names