Aidan
Aidan or Aiden are anglicised versions of the Irish male given name Aodhán. Phonetic variants such as Aiden have become more common. The Irish language female equivalent is Aodhnait. 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. Its popularity is also reflected in the occurrence of similar-sounding names such as Braden, Caden, Hayden, and Jayden. 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. Given name Middle Ages Áedán mac Gabráin (ruled c. 574–609), King of Dál Riata, sometimes anglicised as Aidan of Dalriada Aeddan ap Blegywryd (died 1018), Welsh prince of Gwynedd Adam, Earl of Angus (ruled from before c. 1189) Saint Máedóc of Ferns (550–632), also known as Áedan Saint Aidan of Lindisfarne (died 651), Irish missionary and bishop Modern times Arts and entertainment Aidan Baker (born 1974/1975), Canadian musician Aidan Banks, English guitarist Aidan Browne, Northern Irish television presenter Aidan Bryant (born 1987), American comedian Aidan Cassar (born 1999), Maltese singer-songwriter Aidan Chambers (born 1934), English author Aidan Coffey, Irish musician Aidan Coleman (born 1976), Australian poet and speechwriter Aidan Connolly (born 1991), Irish fiddler and teacher Aidan Cooney, Irish television presenter Aiden Curtiss (born 1998), British-American fashion model Aidan J. David (born 1981), English actor Aidan Davis (born 1997), English street dancer, rapper, and television host Aidan Devine, Canadian film actor Aiden Dillard, American film director and artist Aidan Dunne, Irish art critic Aidan Fennessy (died 2020), Australian playwright, stage director, and actor Aiden Flowers (born 2004), American actor Aidan Gallagher (born 2003), American actor Aidan Gillen (born 1968), Irish actor Aidan Gillett (born 1986), Australian actor Aidan Girt, Canadian drummer Aidan Gould (born 1996), American actor Aiden Grimshaw (born 1991), English musician Aidan Hartley (born 1965), British author and journalist Aiden J. Harvey (born 1944), English comedian Aidan Hawken (born 1975), American musician Aidan Higgins (1927–2015), Irish writer Aidan Hughes (born 1956), English artist Aiden James (born 1982), American pop singer Aidan A. Kelly (born 1940), American