How to say it
AI · dan
/ˈeɪ.dən/
Masculine
Aidan
Little fire
What it means
The traditional Irish form of Aodhán, a little-one form of Aodh (the Celtic fire god), so 'little fire.'
Aidan is the traditional Irish spelling of Aodhán, a diminutive of Aodh, the old Celtic god of fire and sun, giving the warm meaning 'little fire.' St. Aidan of Lindisfarne carried Christianity through 7th-century Northumbria. The American respelling Aiden later raced past it on the charts, but Aidan is the original. It reads friendly, Celtic, and bright. Part of the same blaze as the Aodh-family names.
Popularity over time
peaked at #39 in 2003, currently #326 in 2025.
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, names given to at least 5 babies in a year, 1880–present. See where the names are moving
Heads-up notes
- Spelling
Aidan is the traditional Irish form; Aiden and Ayden are the American respellings.
- Pop culture
St. Aidan of Lindisfarne; Aidan Shaw of Sex and the City.
Who's worn it
Historical figures, characters, and public faces who share the name. The cultural surface, for whatever weight you want to give it.
- St. Aidan of Lindisfarne 7th-century Irish monk who evangelized Northumbria
Spelling variants
- Aiden
- Aedan
- Ayden
Names with the same feeling
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