Name Awesome

Lian

#428 in 2025UnisexBoys' nameGirls' name

Multiple documented origins; meaning depends on tradition

Lian has been given to 5,705 babies in the U.S. since 1984. In 2025 it ranked #428 of 13,926 boys’ names in use. Its peak year was 2025, with 752 recorded. It's used for both sexes: 80% boys, 20% girls all-time.

Babies named Lian, 2025

1 in 4,410

Lian over time, 1880–2025

BoysGirls
020040060080018801900192019401960198020002020

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 Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Girls or boys — Lian over time

In 2025, Lian went to 5% girls and 95% boys.

19572025

A sex is only published in years it reached five applications, so a stretch at 0% or 100% means the other side stayed under that floor — not that it was never used.

Lian: meaning, origin, and history

Multiple documented origins; meaning depends on tradition

Deeper origin not confirmed in the cited records

What Lian means

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

The naming story behind Lian

A separate documented entry treats Lian as a short form of Julian. 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.

One of the source’s documented entries for Lian records a meaning of lotus, water lily.

A separate documented entry treats Lian as a form of Leanne. 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.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 4,579 boys were recorded with the name Lian between 1984 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 752 in 2025; its best national rank was #428 in 2025.

Over 5 years its rank rose, from #793 in 2020 to #428 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank rose, from #1,145 in 2015 to #428 in 2025.

In the United States, 1,126 girls were recorded with the name Lian between 1957 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 50 in 2017; its best national rank was #3,227 in 2017.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #3,526 in 2020 to #3,620 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank rose, from #3,893 in 2015 to #3,620 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.

How common is Lian?

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

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 4,410
752 of 3,315,165 births
Among boys only
1 in 2,270
0.04% of boys
Rank, 2025
#428
of 13,926 boys’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
3,057 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Lian 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 1002%
School of 50011%

Put another way: gather 3,057 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Lian. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Lians were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Lian was born before 2021 — so the typical Lian is around 4 today.

Median birth year
2021
About 4 years old
Biggest decade
2020s
62.7% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
99.0%
A modern name
Recorded since 1950
4,579
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

2020s — 62.7% of all recorded uses (2,871).

Is Lian 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
+87
Places climbed
Rank vs 5 years ago
+365
Places climbed
Rank vs 10 years ago
+717
Places climbed
Births vs 10 years ago
4.56×
More babies than then
Share of its own peak
100.0%
Peak was 2025 (752)
Years since peak
Peaking now
At its all-time high
Year-to-year steadiness
Volatile
25.5% average annual change
Best rank ever
#428
2025

Spellings of Lian

Lian is not the most common spelling — Brian is, with 18.2% against Lian's 0.07%.

Grouped by closeness of spelling (up to two letter changes), same sex, with a floor on all-time use. It catches Sophia/Sofia and Aiden/Ayden, and misses spellings that sound alike but look different, like Sean and Shawn.

Where Lian is used — boys

Across 2016–2025, Lian was most concentrated in New Jersey — about 1 in 2,326 boys, against 1 in 4,464 across all states with data. It was least common in Oregon (1 in 25,000).

443 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1New Jersey1 in 2,326
  2. 2Arizona1 in 2,857
  3. 3Texas1 in 2,857
  4. 4Maryland1 in 3,333
  5. 5Florida1 in 3,448
  6. 6Delaware1 in 3,571
  7. 7New York1 in 3,704
  8. 8California1 in 3,846

Shading is the share of that state's recorded boys given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings.

Geographically, Lian is somewhat regional — more concentrated than 48% of the names used widely enough to compare. See the most regional names

Where Lian is used — girls

Across 1910–2025, Lian was most concentrated in California — about 1 in 100,000 girls, against 1 in 187,091 across all states with data. It was least common in Texas (1 in —).

01 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1California1 in 100,000
  2. 2Florida1 in 100,000
  3. 3New York1 in 100,000
  4. 4Michigan1 in —
  5. 5Oklahoma1 in —
  6. 6Texas1 in —

Shading is the share of that state's recorded girls given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings. Lian has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Lian around the world

Where Lian 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
    1997–2025
    #1,798
    in 2025
  • Ireland
    2024–2025
    #829
    in 2025
  • France
    2006–2025
    #2,042
    in 2025
  • Canada
    2002–2024
    #1,390
    in 2024
  • South Australia
    1975–2013
    #499
    in 2013

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.

Notable people named Lian

People whose public names include Lian, backed by Wikidata given-name records and ordered by linked Wikimedia pages. The name may be a middle name.

People data from Wikidata (CC0). Fame is measured, not judged — the order reflects how widely each person is documented, not the U.S. birth records popularity this page is otherwise about.

Lian in other languages

Cross-language forms and variants of Lian. Linked forms have their own page here.

LinLiamLyanLianaRyeomRyeon

Variant forms from Wikidata (CC0). Most are used mainly outside the United States; U.S. birth records statistics cover US usage only.

Lian by the numbers

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

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#428
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Up 365
Best rank ever
#428
2025
Peak year
2025
752 that year
First recorded
1984
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
4,579
Count in 2025
752

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
#3,620
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 94
Best rank ever
#3,227
2017
Peak year
2017
50 that year
First recorded
1957
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
1,126
Count in 2025
42

Names similar to Lian

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

GianRianCianEianKianArianZianAvianKylianDavianElianJavianFavianKilianJianVivianAdianZavianDemianTavianCaspianXavianCillianWillian

Names with a curve like Lian

Not spelling — timing. These names rose, peaked and faded in the same years as Lian, so they read as being from the same moment even when they look nothing alike.

KenzoLedgerKrewAnderCillianCaspianZakaiBrixtonReignSalemTadeoMylo

Sibling names for Lian

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 Lian

Top names of 2025, Lian's peak yearThe 2020s in fullOther names that peaked in 2025Boys' names starting with LChinese Girl NamesChinese Names