# Who are so few Americans named Ian, Nigel or Simon? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 16, 2007, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-so-few-americans-named-ian-nigel-or-simon/422915 "2007-10-16T16:26:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-so-few-americans-named-ian-nigel-or-simon/422915/21 "2007-10-16T18:12:08Z")
[QUOTE=dangermom] Peter has lost popularity for obvious reasons, though I have known one kid named Peter. [/QUOTE] ??? Not obvious to _me_ – please do enlighten! (Or is this a whoosh?) (If you mean that it, in some circles, is one of a hundred slang terms for a part of the male anatomy, okay, but is it really “losing popularity” due to that minor association? I kinda doubt it.) ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-so-few-americans-named-ian-nigel-or-simon/422915/22 "2007-10-16T18:40:21Z")
That was what I meant, just like no one calls their kid Willy or Dick any more. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-so-few-americans-named-ian-nigel-or-simon/422915/23 "2007-10-16T18:42:02Z")
[QUOTE=elmwood] Admit it: most of the people you’ve met in the US who are named Ian, Nigel and Simon are either British tourists, British ex-pats, or the children of tweed-wearing, Jag-uh-yoo-wire driving, digestive biscuit craving Anglophiles. [/QUOTE] My son’s name is Simon and I’m of Polish descent, drive a Mazda and eat a lot of pork 😃 When we told people what we were naming our son, most people’s reaction was along the lines of “Oh, that’s kind of unusual” but tempered by the fact that it _was_ a Biblical name and not as ‘foreign’ sounding as Nigel. I never really equated it with England but I don’t keep up on those things. I just thought of it as Biblical from the New Testament. To be completely honest, half of the name’s charm was that it went well with his middle name (Jeffrey). Come to think about it, my nephew (of Polish/Italian descent) is named Ian. Now that I know my sister & I have been carrying water for the UK, my next kid is getting named Mieczyslaw. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-so-few-americans-named-ian-nigel-or-simon/422915/24 "2007-10-16T18:49:12Z")
[QUOTE=Leaffan] WTF? My son’s name. It has three letters and has been around forever. How can you mispronounce Ian? [/QUOTE] Ask Ian Ziering. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-so-few-americans-named-ian-nigel-or-simon/422915/25 "2007-10-16T18:56:17Z")
[QUOTE=dangermom] Colin’s becoming more popular; you meet quite a few baby Colins these days. I think it used to carry a more ‘sissy’ connotation than it does now, as Colin Powell has toughened it up a bit. It used to be practically on a level with Clive. [/QUOTE] And Clive Owen is turning things around on that. ---
**Author:** ![Alive\_At\_Both\_Ends](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Alive\_At\_Both\_Ends](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alive_At_Both_Ends)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-so-few-americans-named-ian-nigel-or-simon/422915/26 "2007-10-16T19:07:06Z")
[QUOTE=panache45] The question is: Were these common British names pre-Revolution? If they’re more recent, they wouldn’t be a part of our British heritage. [/QUOTE] None of them were at all common in the UK before the mid-20th century. For example, I did a search on the 1841 England & Wales census for Nigels, and found there were only 14 in total. Ian was even rarer - only 6. I can’t get all the way back to the 18th century, but I think this makes the point. ---
**Author:** ![Wee\_Bairn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/90db22/32.png) [@Wee\_Bairn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wee_Bairn)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-so-few-americans-named-ian-nigel-or-simon/422915/27 "2007-10-16T19:11:28Z")
And why no Gareths, or Liams? ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-so-few-americans-named-ian-nigel-or-simon/422915/28 "2007-10-16T19:37:45Z")
[QUOTE=Wee Bairn] And why no Gareths, or Liams? [/QUOTE] Well, “Liam” is just a diminutive of “William,” isn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-so-few-americans-named-ian-nigel-or-simon/422915/29 "2007-10-16T19:38:10Z")
Does anyone have insight into different names between Germany and Austria? Spain/Latin America? Portugal/Brazil? ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/47e85d/32.png) [@Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Lance_Murdoch)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-so-few-americans-named-ian-nigel-or-simon/422915/30 "2007-10-16T20:42:26Z")
[QUOTE=garygnu] 2006 Popularity: Ian: 81st Colin 111th Simon: 246th Nigel: 709th [cite: ssa.gov](http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/) [/QUOTE] Additionally, “Collin” is #181. If you want a real British boy’s name go with Vivian, which is not in the top 1,000 U.S. names. ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-so-few-americans-named-ian-nigel-or-simon/422915/31 "2007-10-16T20:47:36Z")
I wasn’t aware Ian was a British name. Ignorance fought. ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-so-few-americans-named-ian-nigel-or-simon/422915/32 "2007-10-16T20:52:16Z")
My old neightbor from across the street was named Ian. His grandmother is from England though. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-so-few-americans-named-ian-nigel-or-simon/422915/33 "2007-10-16T21:01:29Z")
I knew an Ian in grade school. He pronounced it “Ion”. His father was an rocket scientist, maybe that had something to do with it. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-so-few-americans-named-ian-nigel-or-simon/422915/34 "2007-10-16T21:07:45Z")
[QUOTE=Captain Lance Murdoch] Additionally, “Collin” is #181. If you want a real British boy’s name go with Vivian, which is not in the top 1,000 U.S. names. [/QUOTE] Is Evelyn still used over there? ---
**Author:** ![MrFloppy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/43a26b/32.png) [@MrFloppy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrFloppy)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-so-few-americans-named-ian-nigel-or-simon/422915/35 "2007-10-16T21:10:39Z")
How about Percy? ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-so-few-americans-named-ian-nigel-or-simon/422915/36 "2007-10-16T21:19:04Z")
[QUOTE=pool] My old neightbor from across the street was named Ian. His grandmother is from England though. [/QUOTE] Well to be fair, I was born in Scotland, but am really about as Canadian as … as … well, I was 6 when I came here. So, that’s why my son’s name is Ian. **acsenray** - I had to Google Ian Ziering, and yes for some unknown reason he mispronounces his own name. (Like the family I know who named their daughter Gillian and pronounce it with a hard “G” as in, well Gilligan. :smack: ) **Wee Bairn** - No Liam’s? 😕 I know a couple around my son’s age, and thought it was quite popular. (I just looked it up and it was 98th in the US for 2006.) Whereas > [@](#): > > Gareth is not in the top 1000 names for any year of birth in the last 15 years. ---
**Author:** ![Kizarvexius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Kizarvexius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kizarvexius)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-so-few-americans-named-ian-nigel-or-simon/422915/37 "2007-10-16T21:23:00Z")
Ian is the Scottish form of John, which might explain why the name is more common on the other side of the pond. Of course the Irish version, Sean, is in pretty standard American usage, which sort of demolishes my theory… :smack: I’ve known several boys named Colin/Collin. Never thought too much about it, other than the obvious anatomical association. Never in my life met somebody named Nigel. It remains in the mind of this Anglophile _the_ stereotypical English name for a boy. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-so-few-americans-named-ian-nigel-or-simon/422915/38 "2007-10-16T21:26:42Z")
[QUOTE=MrFloppy] How about Percy? [/QUOTE] A diminuitive of Percival, correct? Can’t speak for others, but to me, Percy is marked as an African-American name (cf. Tyrone, Shaniqua, etc.) due to the rap mogul Master P (real name Percy Miller) and two two real-life Percys I knew in school. Come to think of it … who are all these notable British Percys? Is it really a stereotypically British name? Hear about Nigels, Colins, etc. … see 'em on TV and such … but no British Percys have entered my experience :shrug: ---
**Author:** ![Alive\_At\_Both\_Ends](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Alive\_At\_Both\_Ends](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alive_At_Both_Ends)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-so-few-americans-named-ian-nigel-or-simon/422915/39 "2007-10-16T22:00:36Z")
[QUOTE=bordelond] A diminuitive of Percival, correct? [/QUOTE] No. A name in its own right. Originally the surname of the Earls of Northumberland. > [@](#): > > Come to think of it … who are all these notable British Percys? Is it really a stereotypically British name? Hear about Nigels, Colins, etc. … see 'em on TV and such … but no British Percys have entered my experience :shrug: Well, there was the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, for one. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-so-few-americans-named-ian-nigel-or-simon/422915/40 "2007-10-16T22:17:35Z")
Ian, Colin, Nigel, Trevor, and other names we associate with England no longer place in the top 100 in English names (though Rhys still places in the top 50 and Muhammad has moved into the top 25 each year and higher than that if you count Mohammed). Ian is now in the Top 100 in America but not in England , while Muhammed/Mohammed are in the Top 1000 in the U.S. but fairly far down the list. [, while this chart of the most popular 21st century boys’ names in England and Wales](http://www.statistics.gov.uk/specials/babiesnames_boys.asp) shows a return to the standards you find both places (though Jack, while popular in America [where it’s usually a nickname for John or Jackson], is top of the charts 5 years running in England/Wales). In a generation there will be far more American Ians than British Ians and far more British Muhammads than either. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-so-few-americans-named-ian-nigel-or-simon/422915.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-so-few-americans-named-ian-nigel-or-simon/422915.md?page=3)