Every Boy Name

Boy's name

Adrian

Say it AY-dree-un 3 syllables

Latin · “from the Roman harbor Hadria”

Common in Poland, Ontario, Sweden, and 10 more places. Rare across France, the UK, Italy, and 8 more places.

1 in 240 boys born in Norway in 2025. Number 70 there.

Adrian in every place

Rank, count and share in all 40 places: loved in 0, common in 13, rare in 13.
Adrian in every place we hold figures for
Place Rankyear Boysshare 5 years earlier
British Isles
England and Wales279 (down)20251611 in 1,6892432020
Scotland298 (down)2025121 in 1,6372312020
Northern Ireland314 (down)202551 in 1,6573042020
Ireland348 (down)2025111 in 2,1572112020
North America
Ontario (province)78 (down)2024151about 1 in 397712019
Quebec (province)204 (down)202527about 1 in 1,0761622020
British Columbia (province)120 (up)202329about 1 in 4491652018
Nova Scotia (province)Not in the published top 212025Not listed2020
Oceania
New South Wales (state)Not in the published top 1002025Not listed2020
Victoria (state)Not in the published top 1012025Not listed2020
Queensland (state)Not in the published top 1012025Not listed2020
South Australia (state)Not in the published top 1002025Not listed2020
New ZealandNot in the published top 1002025Not listed2020
Western Europe
France304 (up)20252151 in 1,4083202020
Netherlands656 (up)202520about 1 in 3,3266992020
Central Europe
Austria53 (down)20251481 in 257482020
Switzerland86 (up)2025931 in 387922020
Berlin (city)52 (down)202355about 1 in 282462018
Munich (city)55 (up)202523about 1 in 190612020
Cologne (city)106 (down)202312about 1 in 532662018
Bonn (city)37 (up)202514about 1 in 226492020
Leipzig (city)82 (up)20257about 1 in 411912020
Rostock (city)172 (down)20251about 1 in 1,047672020
Nordic countries
Norway70 (down)2025971 in 240472020
Sweden32 (down)2025291about 1 in 148232020
DenmarkNot in the published top 502025Not listed2020
FinlandNot in the published top 502025No list2020
IcelandNot in the published top 102025No list2020
Southern Europe
Spain17 (down)20241,379112019
Catalonia (region) (as Adrián)82 (down)2025621 in 334552020
Italy319 (new in the list)2024391 in 4,855Not listed2019
Central and Eastern Europe
Poland75 (down)20253101 in 408532020
HungaryNot in the published top 1002025762020
Slovenia138 (down)202513about 1 in 5571292020
EstoniaNot in the published top 272025Not listed2020
Moscow (city)Not in the published top 612025Not listed2020
Croatia342025139No list2020
Middle East
TurkeyNot in the published top 302025Not listed2020
Israel (published as אדריאן)727 (down)20248about 1 in 10,6375612019
Latin America
ArgentinaNot in the published top 202024Not listed2019

Germany publishes no national list; the German rows are city registers. Israel publishes names in Hebrew script; the original is shown beside the name. About: the publisher leaves out its smallest names, so the share is approximate. ▲ and ▼ compare the rank with five years earlier. Not listed five years earlier: not in that year’s list. No list: the place published no list that year. How these figures are computed.

About the name

Adrian comes from the Latin Hadrianus, 'from the Roman harbor Hadria', a place name that goes back to Etruscan. It is a double of Hadrian, the older form that keeps the initial H.

2 more paragraphs

It has three syllables, AY-dree-un, and a smooth, classical sound. The accented Adrián and Adrían are common, and related names include Adrià, Adrien, Hadrian and Adriaen, with Adie, Ade and Adri as short forms.

Adrian is popular in Spain, Sweden and Croatia and holds a place in Ontario and British Columbia, though it is less common in Quebec. Canadian records put its peak around 1990, and it is now falling in most of the places that record it. It remains a familiar, international classic that travels easily between languages.

Meaning, origin and how to say it

Say it
AY-dree-un · 3 syllables · Stress on beat 1 of 3.
Meaning
“from the Roman harbor Hadria”
Origin
Latin and Etruscan
Spellings counted
Counted together with Adrian here: Adrián, Adrían.
Related names
Adrià, Ari, Adrien, Arjan, Hadrian, Adie, Ade, Hadrianus, Adri, Adriaen, Adrianus, Ary, Adrin, Adriani, Adriano, Adrijan
Where Adrian comes from (Wiktionary)

From Latin Hadrianus (“from the Roman harbor Hadria”) a place name ultimately from Etruscan 𐌇𐌀𐌕𐌓𐌉𐌀 (hatria). Doublet of Hadrian.

Shortened from the Wiktionary entry for Adrian. Text available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Adrian over time

Rising in 2 of the 23 regions we can compare over five years, falling in 9. Peak in Ontario and British Columbia: 1990.

Rank in England and Wales, 1996 to 2025

Adrian in England and Wales: #204 in 1996, a peak of #190 in 2009, and #279 in 2025.

#1#10#50#100#300#1,000200020052010201520202025Top 101996: #204, 155 boys1997: #221, 143 boys1998: #256, 113 boys1999: #258, 113 boys2000: #242, 120 boys2001: #293, 94 boys2002: #304, 89 boys2003: #265, 115 boys2004: #272, 117 boys2005: #255, 134 boys2006: #249, 152 boys2007: #207, 227 boys2008: #203, 234 boys2009: #190, 262 boys2010: #199, 266 boys2011: #214, 231 boys2012: #208, 267 boys2013: #203, 273 boys2014: #237, 232 boys2015: #244, 218 boys2016: #223, 251 boys2017: #224, 239 boys2018: #231, 222 boys2019: #246, 199 boys2020: #243, 194 boys2021: #249, 188 boys2022: #298, 151 boys2023: #262, 175 boys2024: #244, 200 boys2025: #279, 161 boys#204 in 1996peak #190, 2009#279in 2025
Show the numbers
YearRankBoys
1996204155
1997221143
1998256113
1999258113
2000242120
200129394
200230489
2003265115
2004272117
2005255134
2006249152
2007207227
2008203234
2009190262
2010199266
2011214231
2012208267
2013203273
2014237232
2015244218
2016223251
2017224239
2018231222
2019246199
2020243194
2021249188
2022298151
2023262175
2024244200
2025279161

Source: Office for National Statistics (OGL v3)

The long view: in Ontario and British Columbia

Half of the boys named Adrian in Ontario and British Columbia since 1925 were born in or after 1996. Peak: 1990, about 318 per 100,000 boys. Babies per 100,000 boys, five-year periods.

1925-1929: 0 per 100,000 boys1930-1934: 3.4 per 100,000 boys1935-1939: 6.8 per 100,000 boys1940-1944: 10.8 per 100,000 boys19401945-1949: 12.2 per 100,000 boys1950-1954: 30.8 per 100,000 boys1955-1959: 49.7 per 100,000 boys1960-1964: 56.5 per 100,000 boys19601965-1969: 80.7 per 100,000 boys1970-1974: 142.8 per 100,000 boys1975-1979: 210 per 100,000 boys1980-1984: 227.5 per 100,000 boys19801985-1989: 240.5 per 100,000 boys1990-1994: 268.3 per 100,000 boys1995-1999: 250.8 per 100,000 boys2000-2004: 237.8 per 100,000 boys20002005-2009: 266.8 per 100,000 boys2010-2014: 282.7 per 100,000 boys2015-2019: 297.4 per 100,000 boys2020-2024: 265.6 per 100,000 boys20202015-2019: about 1 in 336 boys
Show the numbers
YearsPer 100,000 boys
1925–19290
1930–19343.4
1935–19396.8
1940–194410.8
1945–194912.2
1950–195430.8
1955–195949.7
1960–196456.5
1965–196980.7
1970–1974142.8
1975–1979210
1980–1984227.5
1985–1989240.5
1990–1994268.3
1995–1999250.8
2000–2004237.8
2005–2009266.8
2010–2014282.7
2015–2019297.4
2020–2024265.6

Source: Ontario Office of the Registrar General (Ontario Data Catalogue) (OGL-Ontario); BC Vital Statistics Agency (BC Data Catalogue) (OGL-BC). Dark bar: the period holding the median birth year.

Brothers and middle names for Adrian

Brother names

Names that rose and fell with Adrian, from the same generation, with no clashing sounds.

  1. 1 in 424, Ireland

  2. 1 in 83, Austria

  3. 1 in 110, Austria

  4. 1 in 5,230, England and Wales

  5. 1 in 62, Poland

  6. 1 in 185, Ireland

  7. 1 in 128, Austria

  8. 1 in 290, Poland

  9. 1 in 66, Poland

  10. 1 in 409, Ireland

Middle names

Scored for rhythm against Adrian's 3 syllables and for long, steady use.

  1. 1 in 50, Ireland

  2. 1 in 187, England and Wales

  3. 1 in 61, Northern Ireland

  4. 1 in 118, England and Wales

  5. 1 in 105, Ireland

  6. 1 in 136, Northern Ireland

  7. 1 in 112, Northern Ireland

  8. 1 in 88, England and Wales

Full-name check

Adrian Jack

Syllables 3-1Initials A.J.No sound clashes between the parts.

Sisters for Adrian: Helena, Laura, Victoria, and 5 more
  1. HelenaRose and fell with Adrian · Same generation as Adrian
  2. LauraRose and fell with Adrian · Same generation as Adrian
  3. VictoriaRose and fell with Adrian · As common as Adrian
  4. LilianaRose and fell with Adrian · As common as Adrian
  5. JoannaRose and fell with Adrian · Same generation as Adrian
  6. NataliaRose and fell with Adrian · Latin, like Adrian
  7. AnaRose and fell with Adrian · Latin, like Adrian · Same initial as Adrian
  8. SaraRose and fell with Adrian · Latin, like Adrian

Girls' names from the same engine, over the girls' lists of the same publishers.

Moved with Adrian

The boy names whose popularity rose and fell most like Adrian's across every region and decade we hold.

  1. Rare across France, the UK, Italy, and 10 more places.

  2. Rare across France, the UK, Italy, and 7 more places.

  3. Common across the UK, Italy, Poland, and 19 more places.

  4. Rare across France, the UK, Italy, and 18 more places.

  5. Rare across France, the UK, Poland, and 18 more places.

  6. Rare across France, the UK, Italy, and 17 more places.

  7. Rare across France, the UK, Italy, and 16 more places.

  8. Rare across France, the UK, three Canadian provinces, and 13 more places.

Famous people named Adrian

Adrian Mutu, Adrian Smith, and 6 more

From Wikidata, ranked by how many Wikipedia language editions have an article on them. People: Wikidata (CC0). Links go to Wikipedia in this page's language when an article exists, else English.

Questions about Adrian

How popular is Adrian in Ontario?

Adrian ranked #78 in Ontario in 2024, given to 151 boys, about 1 in 397.

Is Adrian rising in popularity?

Not overall: it is falling in more places than it is rising. Rising in 2 of the 23 regions we can compare over five years, falling in 9. Rising in: British Columbia and France.

What does Adrian mean?

Adrian means “from the Roman harbor Hadria”, according to Wiktionary.

How many syllables does Adrian have?

Adrian has 3 syllables: AY-dree-un.

Every rank and count on this page comes from an official birth register. How these figures are computed.

Meanings, origins and people: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), Wikidata (CC0).

The 42 birth registers behind these figures

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Kept names collect here.

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