Aidan, Aiden and Ayden are anglicised versions of the Irish male given name ''Aodhán''. The Irish language female equivalent is ''Aodhnait''.
Etymology and spelling
The name is derived from the name ''Aodhán'', which is a
pet form
A hypocorism ( or ; from Ancient Greek ; sometimes also ''hypocoristic''), or pet name, is a name used to show affection for a person. It may be a diminutive form of a person's name, such as '' Izzy'' for Isabel or '' Bob'' for Robert, or it ...
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. ''Aiden'' was the 38th most popular name given to boys in Canada in 2022.
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.
Notable people with the given name
Middle Ages
*
Áedán mac Gabráin
Áedán mac Gabráin (; ), also written as Aedan, was a king of Dál Riata from 574 until c. 609 AD. The kingdom of Dál Riata was situated in modern Argyll and Bute, Scotland, and parts of County Antrim, Ireland. Genealogies record that Áe ...
(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
Aidan of Lindisfarne (; died 31 August 651) was an Irish monk and missionary credited with converting the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity in Northumbria. He founded a ministry cathedral on the island of Lindisfarne, known as Lindisfarne Priory, ser ...
(died 651), Irish missionary and bishop
Modern times: Aidan and Aiden
Arts and entertainment
* Aidan Baker (born 1974/1975), Canadian musician
*
Aidan Banks
Longview were a British indie rock band from Manchester, England.
History
Its members were chief songwriter Rob McVey, guitarist Doug Morch, bassist Aidan Banks and drummer Francesco Mendolia. Original drummer Matt Dabbs left the band for fa ...
, English guitarist
*
Aidan Browne
Aidan Browne (b. Belfast)Aidan Bryant (born 1987), American comedian
* Aidan Cassar (born 1999), Maltese singer-songwriter
*
Aidan Chambers
Aidan Chambers (27 December 1934 – 11 May 2025) was a British author of children's and young-adult novels. He won both the British Carnegie Medal and the American Printz Award for '' Postcards from No Man's Land'' (1999). For his "lastin ...
(1934–2025), English author
*
Aidan Coffey
Aidan Coffey is an Irish traditional accordionist from County Waterford (Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divi ...
, Irish musician
* Aidan Coleman (born 1976), Australian poet and speechwriter
* Aidan Connolly (born 1991), Irish fiddler and teacher
*
Aidan Cooney
Aidan Cooney is an Irish radio presenter. He was a presenter of '' Ireland AM'' on TV3 from 1999 to 2018. He has since began hosting a weekday show on Q102, called Q Breakfast from 7am to 10am.
Ireland AM
Cooney joined the Ireland AM team in ...
, Irish television presenter
*
Aiden Curtiss
Aiden Deborah A. H. Curtiss (born February 14, 1998) is a British-American fashion model.
Early life
Curtiss was born in London, England, to Guinean-born model Katoucha Niane and menswear designer Nigel Curtiss. She moved to New York when sh ...
(born 1998), British-American fashion model
* Aidan J. David (born 1981), English actor
*
Aidan Davis
Aidan Davis (born 23 March 1997) is an English street dancer, rapper, and television host. In 2009, he reached the final of the third series of the ITV talent show '' Britain's Got Talent''. He finished fifth place overall and later that year ...
(born 1997), English street dancer, rapper, and television host
*
Aidan Devine
Aidan Devine is an English–Canadian film actor.
Early life
Devine was born in England and immigrated with his family to Canada at the age of 15. He studied at Dawson College's Dome Theatre in Montreal, Quebec
Quebec is Canada's Li ...
, Canadian film actor
*
Aiden Dillard
Aiden Dillard is an American independent film director and artist. He is known for using surreal humor and camp (style) within the confines of low-budget film. Aiden Dillard was born in Escondido, California, but grew up in Durham, North Caro ...
, 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
Aidan Murphy (born 1967 or 1968), better known as Aidan Gillen (), is an Irish actor. He is known for his roles as Stuart Alan Jones in ''Queer as Folk (British TV series), Queer as Folk'' (1999–2000); Tommy Carcetti in ''The Wire'' (2004–20 ...
(born 1968), Irish actor
* Aidan Gillett (born 1986), Australian actor
*
Aidan Girt
Aidan Girt is a Canadian drummer for the Montreal-based post-rock collectives Godspeed You! Black Emperor, and Exhaust. He is also a solo electronic artist under the names ''OSB'', ''1-Speed Bike'', and ''Bottleskup Flenkenkenmike'' and continues ...
, 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
Aidan Higgins (3 March 1927 – 27 December 2015) was an Irish writer. He wrote short stories, travel pieces, radio dramas and novels. Among his published works are '' Langrishe, Go Down'' (1966), '' Balcony of Europe'' (1972) and the biographi ...
(1927–2015), Irish writer
*
Aidan Hughes
Aidan Hughes is a commercial artist. He was born in 1956 in Wallasey, Wallasey, Merseyside, England, and was trained as an artist by his father, himself a landscape painter.
In the 1980s, Hughes published a Pulp magazine, pulp-style magazine cal ...
(born 1956), English artist
* Aiden James (born 1982), American pop singer
* Aidan A. Kelly (born 1940), American academic, poet, and influential figure
* Aidan Knight (born 1986), Canadian musician
*
Aidan Laprete
Aidan James Laprete Powell (born September 6, 2001) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, and record producer. As an actor, he is known for his role as Henry Tanaka in The Wilds (TV series), ''The Wilds''.
Early life
Laprete was born on Sep ...
(born 2001), American singer, songwriter, actor, and record producer
* Aiden Leslie (born 1977), American pop singer-songwriter
* Aidan Mathews (born 1956), Irish poet and dramatist
*
Aidan McArdle
Aidan McArdle is an Irish character actor. He is known for being a series regular in shows such as '' Beautiful People'' (2008-2009), '' Garrow's Law'' (2009-2011), and '' Mr Selfridge'' (2014-2015).
Early life and education
Aidan McArdle wa ...
(born 1970), Irish actor
* Aidan Meehan, Irish artist and author
*
Aidan Moffat
Aidan John Moffat (born 10 April 1973) is a Scottish vocalist and musician, and member of the band Arab Strap.
Early life
Moffat was born and raised in Falkirk, Scotland. The first album he bought was ''Elvis Sings for Kids'' by Elvis Presley ...
(born 1973), Scottish musician
* Aidan O'Rourke (born 1975), Scottish musician
*
Aidan Power
Aidan Power (born 30 March 1979) is an Irish television and radio presenter.
Career
Born in Templeogue, Dublin, Power was educated at St. Mac Dara's community college and then Ballyfermot College of Further Education, Ballyfermot Senior Colleg ...
(born 1979), Irish television and radio presenter
*
Aidan Quinn
Aidan Quinn (born March 8, 1959) is an Irish-American actor. He made his film debut in '' Reckless'' (1984), and has starred in over 80 feature films, including ''Desperately Seeking Susan'' (1985), '' The Mission'' (1986), '' Stakeout'' (1987) ...
(born 1959), American actor
* Aidan Salahova (born 1964), Azeri-Russian artist and gallerist
* Aiden Shaw (born 1966), English author, model, and pornographic film actor
* Aidan Shipley (born 1992), Canadian actor and filmmaker
* Aiden Thomas, American author
* Aidan Turner (born 1983), Irish actor
* Aiden Turner (born 1977), English actor
*
Aidan Zammit
Aidan Zammit is a musician from Sliema, Malta. He has lived in Italy since 1985.
Biography
He has worked as a composer, musician and singer with several artists, including Mike Francis, Niccolò Fabi, Andrea Bocelli, Nicola Piovani, Vincenzo ...
(born 1965), Maltese musician
* Aiden Zhane (born 1990), American drag performer
Aidan Crawley
Aidan Merivale Crawley (10 April 1908 – 3 November 1993) was a British journalist, television executive and editor, and politician. He was a member of both of Britain's major political parties: the Labour Party and Conservative Party, and w ...
(1908–1993), British politician, journalist, television executive, and editor
* Aidan Davitt (born 1978), Irish politician
* Aidan Eames, Irish politician and solicitor
* Aidan Key (born 1964), American educator, author, speaker, and community organizer
* Aidan Kohn-Murphy (born 2004), American political activist and TikTok content creator
* Aidan Larkin (born 1946), Irish politician
* Aidan Maloney (1920–2018), Canadian politician
*
Aidan McGrath
Aidan McGrath is an Irish youth activist. He is the former President of Ireland's National Youth Organisation. He was twice elected to represent his Constituency of Fingal in Ireland's National Youth Parliament, Dáil na nÓg, and was chairper ...
, Irish youth activist
* Aidan McLindon (born 1980), Australian politician
* Aidan McQuade, Irish politician
* Aidan O'Connor, Irish politician
* Aidan O'Neill (born 1961), Scottish advocate, barrister, and King's Counsel
Aiden Bonar
Aiden Bonar (born 8 March 1999) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Williamstown Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL). He made his GWS debut in round 20 of the 2018 season scoring two goals in the 105 po ...
Aidan Corr
Aidan Corr (born 17 May 1994) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the North Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL), having previously played for the Greater Western Sydney Giants . The Giants draft ...
(born 1994), Australian rules footballer
* Aidan Coyne (born 2003), Australian footballer
* Aidan Cummins (born 1979), Irish hurler
* Aidan Curry (born 2002), American baseball player
* Aidan Daly (born 1978), New Zealand basketball player
*
Aidan Daniels
Aidan Jun Valcarcel Daniels (born September 6, 1998) is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer player who plays for Canadian Premier League club Pacific FC.
Club career
Toronto FC
When Daniels turned 17 on 8 July 2016, he signed a ...
(born 1998), Canadian soccer player
* Aidan Davison (born 1968), British football goalkeeper and coach
* Aidan de Brune (1874–1946), Australian writer and long-distance walker
* Aidan Devaney, Sligo Gaelic football goalkeeper
* Aidan Dorgan (born 1973), Irish Gaelic footballer and manager
* Aidan Downes (born 1988), Irish footballer
* Aidan Edwards (born 2001), Australian footballer
*
Aiden English
Matthew Thomas Rehwoldt (born October 7, 1987) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) as a color commentator, alongside Tom Hannifan. He is also known for his time in WWE, where he p ...
, ring name of American wrestler Matthew Rehwold (born 1987)
*
Aidan Fennelly
Aidan Fennelly (born 28 August 1981) is a Gaelic footballer from County Laois.
He plays for the Portlaoise GAA, Portlaoise club. He usually plays at right corner back for Laois and in 2005 was nominated for an GAA GPA All Stars Awards, All-Star ...
Aiden Markram
Aiden Kyle Markram (born 4 October 1994) is a South African cricketer who is the current captain of the South Africa national cricket team in Twenty20 International cricket. Markram had captained the South African under-19 cricket team to win th ...
(born 1994), South African cricketer
* Aiden Marsh (born 2003), English professional footballer
* Aidan McAdams (born 1999), Scottish football goalkeeper
* Aiden McCabe (born 1987), Irish hurler
* Aidan McCaffery (born 1957), English footballer
*
Aidan McCarry
Aidan McCarry (born 1963 in Loughguile, County Antrim) is an Irish retired sportsperson. He played hurling
Hurling (, ') is an outdoor Team sport, team game of ancient Gaelic culture, Gaelic Irish origin, played by men and women. One ...
Aiden McGeady
Aiden John McGeady (born 4 April 1986) is an Irish former professional Association football, footballer. He was born in Scotland, and represented the Republic of Ireland national football team, Republic of Ireland national team from 2004 until 2 ...
(born 1986), Irish footballer
*
Aidan McHugh
Aidan McHugh (born 9 July 2000) is a British professional tennis player.
He has a career high ATP singles ranking of world No. 298 achieved on 28 February 2022. He also has a career high ATP doubles ranking of world No. 285 achieved on 3 Octob ...
(born 2000), British tennis player
* Aidan McMullan (born 1997), Canadian rugby union player
* Aiden Mesias (born 1999), English footballer
* Aidan Miller (born 2004), American baseball player
* Aiden Moffat (born 1996), British racing driver
* Aidan Morgan (born 2001), New Zealand rugby union player
* Aidan Morris (born 2001), American soccer player
* Aiden Morris (born 1993), English cricketer
* Aidan Murphy (footballer) (born 1967), English footballer and coach
* Aidan Murphy (born 2003), Australian sprinter
* Aidan Newhouse (born 1972), English footballer
* Aidan Nesbitt (born 1997), Scottish footballer
* Aidan Nolan (born 1993), Irish hurler
* Aidan Nugent, Armagh Gaelic footballer
*
Aidan O'Brien
Aidan Patrick O'Brien (born 16 October 1969 in County Wexford, Ireland) Aidan O'Brien bio NTRA. ...
Aidan O'Mahony
Aidan O'Mahony (born 8 June 1980, in Tralee) is a retired Irish Gaelic footballer who played at senior level for the Kerry county team. He has 5 All-Irelands, 3 NFLs, 10 Munster Championships, 1 County Senior Championship, 1 Senior Club Coun ...
(born 1982), Irish Gaelic footballer
* Aiden O'Neill (born 1998), Australian football player
* Aidan O'Rourke (born 1976), Irish Gaelic footballer and manager
*
Aidan O'Shea (Kerry Gaelic footballer)
Aidan O'Shea (born 1985 in County Kerry
County Kerry () is a Counties of Ireland, county on the southwest coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Souther ...
Aiden Tolman
Aiden Tolman (born 10 November 1988) is a former Australian professional rugby league footballer who last played as a for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in the NRL. He previously played for the Melbourne Storm and the Canterbury-Bankstown Bull ...
(born 1988), Australian rugby league player
* Aidan Toua (born 1990), Papua New Guinean rugby player
* Aidan Treacy (born 1991), Irish hurler
* Aidan Tuite (born 1983), Irish Gaelic footballer
* Aiden Wagner (born 1994), Australian motorcycle racer
* Aidan Walsh (born 1990), Irish hurler and Gaelic footballer
*
Aidan Walsh (boxer)
Aidan Walsh (born March 28, 1997) is an Irish boxer.
Walsh trains at Holy Family ABC, Belfast. His sister is Olympic boxer Michaela Walsh.
In 2015, Aidan won gold at light welterweight at the Commonwealth Youth Games.
At welterweight, Aid ...
(born 1997), Northern Irish boxer
* Aidan Warner, American football player
* Aidy White (born 1991), Irish footballer
* Aidan Wilson (born 1999), Scottish footballer
* Aidan Zingel (born 1990), Australian volleyball player
* Aidan Zittersteijn (born 1999), Cook Island lawn bowler
Other professions
* Aiden Aslin (born 1994), British Ukrainian soldier
* Aidan Bellenger (born 1950), English historian, schoolmaster, and Benedictine monk
* Aiden Byrne (born 1972), English chef
* J. Aidan Carney (born 1934), Irish pathologist
* Aidan Delgado (born 1981), American soldier and anti-war activist
*
Aidan Dodson
Aidan Mark Dodson (born 1962) is an English Egyptologist and historian. He has been honorary professor of Egyptology at the University of Bristol since 1 August 2018.
Academic career
Dodson, born in London on 11 September 1962, studied at Lang ...
(born 1962), English Egyptologist and historian
* Aidan Heavey (born 1953), Irish businessman
* John Aidan Liddell (1888–1915), English pilot
* Aidan MacCarthy (1914–1992), Irish doctor
* Aidan McAnespie (1965–1988), Irish victim of the Troubles
* Aidan Southall (1920–2009), British cultural anthropologist
* Aidan Sprot (1919–2021), British Army officer
Ayden
* Ayden Callaghan (born 1981), Irish-English actor
* Ayden Duffy (born 1986), English association footballer
* Ayden Eberhardt (born 1998), American football player
* Ayden Heaven (born 2006), English footballer
* Ayden Johnstone (born 1996), New Zealand rugby union player
* Ayden Mayeri (born 1990), Iranian-American actress, comedian, and writer
* Ayden Owens-Delerme (born 2000), Puerto Rican athlete
* Ayden Sng (born 1993), Singaporean actor
EastEnders
''EastEnders'' is a British television soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the East End of London, the ...
''
* Aiden Burn, fictional female character in the American television series '' CSI: NY''
* Aiden Dennison, fictional character in the American television series ''
South of Nowhere
''South of Nowhere'' is an American teen drama television series created by Thomas W. Lynch. It first aired on November 4, 2005, on Noggin as part of its teen programming block, The N. The show was produced by Noggin LLC in association with ...
''
* Aidan Devane, fictional character played by Aiden Turner in the American soap opera ''
All My Children
''All My Children'' (often shortened to ''AMC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 2 ...
''
* Aidan R. Fiero, fictional character played by Zanjoe Marudo in the Filipino drama series '' Dirty Linen
*
Aiden Ford
First Lieutenant Aiden Ford, USMC is a fictional character in the 2004 Canadian-American Sci-Fi Channel television series ''Stargate Atlantis'', a military science fiction show about a combined civilian and military team exploring another galax ...
, fictional character in the Canadian television series ''
Stargate Atlantis
''Stargate Atlantis'' (usually stylized in all caps and often abbreviated ''SGA'') is an Adventure film, adventure and military science fiction television series and part of MGM's Stargate, ''Stargate'' franchise. The show was created by Brad W ...
''
*
Aidan Foster
Aidan Foster is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera ''Neighbours'', played by Bob Morley. Both the character and Morley's casting was announced on 19 June 2011. The actor began filming his first scenes that same week. Aidan was ...
, fictional character in the Australian soap opera ''
Neighbours
''Neighbours'' is an Australian television soap opera that has aired since 18 March 1985. It was created by television executive Reg Watson. The Seven Network commissioned the show following the success of Watson's earlier soap '' Sons and ...
''
* Aiden Lucas, fictional character in the American television series ''
Ghost Whisperer
''Ghost Whisperer'' is an American supernatural television series, which ran on CBS from September 23, 2005, to May 21, 2010.
The series follows the life of Melinda Gordon ( Jennifer Love Hewitt), who has the ability to see and communicate w ...
''
* Aidan Lynch, fictional character in the novel ''
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
''Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire'' is a fantasy novel written by British author J. K. Rowling. It is the fourth novel in the ''Harry Potter'' series. It follows Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, a wizard in his fourth year at Hogwar ...
John Corbett
John Joseph Corbett Jr. (born May 9, 1961) is an American actor and country music singer. On television, he is best known for his roles as Chris Stevens on ''Northern Exposure'' (1990–1995), Aidan Shaw on ''Sex and the City'' (2000–2003), ...
in the American television series ''
Sex and the City
''Sex and the City'' is an American romantic comedy, romantic comedy-drama television series created by Darren Star for HBO, based on Sex and the City (newspaper column), the newspaper column and 1996 book by Candace Bushnell. It premiered in th ...
''
* Aidan Waite, fictional character in the American Syfy drama/horror '' Being Human''
* Aidan, fictional character in the American television series ''
Supernatural (American TV series)
''Supernatural'' is an American television series created by Eric Kripke. It was first broadcast on September 13, 2005, on The WB, and subsequently became part of successor network The CW's lineup. Starring Jared Padalecki as Sam Winchester and ...
''
* Aiden Caldwell, protagonist in the video game Dying Light 2
See also
*
St. Aidan's (disambiguation) St Aidan's is a Country Park between Leeds and Castleford in West Yorkshire, England.
St Aidan's or St. Aidan's may also refer to:
Churches and cathedrals
* St. Aidan's Cathedral, Enniscorthy, County Wexford, Ireland
* St. Aidan's Church (disam ...
*
Aiden
Aiden was an American punk rock band from Seattle, Washington that formed in the spring of 2003. They achieved underground success during the mid to late 2000s with their classic lineup, featuring vocalist wil Francis, William Francis, guitaris ...
, an American band
* Aiden Lair, historic property in Minerva, NY where Theodore Roosevelt stopped on his way to take the Oath of President at Buffalo (Sept. 14, 1901)Adirondack Attic: Aiden Lair /ref>
* W.H.L. McCourtie Estate, originally called Aiden Lair, in Somerset Center, Michigan
* Pamela Aidan, pen name of American fiction writer Pamela Mogen (born 1953)
*
List of Irish-language given names
This list of Irish-language given names shows Irish language given names, their Anglicisation (linguistics), anglicisations and/or English language equivalents.
Not all Irish given names have English equivalents, though most names have an angl ...