Etymology & Historical Origin of the Baby Name Ean

Ean is the Gaelic-Manx form of John. Other Gaelic forms of John are Seán (Irish) and Ian (Scottish) while the Welsh people use Evan. But wait, who are the Manx people exactly? They are the folks who live on the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea between Ireland and the United Kingdom. Like Irish-Gaelic and Scottish-Gaelic, Manx is another Celtic language stemming from the Gaelic branch (while Breton, Cornish and Welsh come from the Brythonic branch). Although the Celts date back to the Iron Age on the Isle of Man, many Celtic Druids from Britannia found shelter there during the Roman occupation of England in the first centuries A.D. Later in the 5th century, Gaels from Ireland, mostly Christian missionaries, brought the Gaelic branch of the Celtic language to the island, and from there the Manx-Gaelic language developed in isolation (which is why it’s distinctly different than the Irish or Scottish-Gaelic languages). You can see how close the Manx Ean is to the Scottish Ian – which became ethnic forms of John in their own native tongue. The name John was popularized throughout the British Isles after the Crusades (a series of religious wars between the 11th and 13th centuries). Many Christian knights and peasants throughout Western Europe made their way east to the Holy Lands in order to restore Christian access to the sacred city of Jerusalem and to liberate the Eastern Christians from invading and occupying Turkish Sunni Muslims. When the so-called pilgrim-warriors returned home from their crusades reinvigorated by their faith, they brought the Biblical name John back to England (anglicized from the Hebrew Yochanan and the Greek Ioannes meaning “God is gracious”). From that point on, there was no stopping the popularity of this name throughout Western Europe – and every language had their own version of the name. It was the Manx people we can thank for giving us Ean.

All About the Baby Name – Ean

Personality

OF THE BOY NAME EAN

The number 11 is a Master Number, and embodies heightened traits of the Two. This personality is on a life journey to find spiritual truth. They are extremely idealistic and intuitive. Elevens have a rare and exceptional spiritual energy that brings a sense of obligation to illuminate the world around them. It's a very powerful responsibility, but these people have far more potential than they know. It's important that they surrender to higher ideals. They have the capacity to see the bigger picture, and they possess the skills to inspire others spiritually. Elevens have strong diplomatic skills and can become great peacemakers. Master numbers can be both a blessing and a curse, as they walk the fine line between greatness and the potential for self-destruction.

Popularity

OF THE BOY NAME EAN

We’re not quite sure who discovered this little Manx charmer, but Ean first appeared on the U.S. male naming charts in 1999. Compared to other Celtic forms of John (Sean, Ian, Evan), Ean is a distant favorite. Because so few people are even aware of the history and culture of the Manx people or even the location of the Isle of Man, we have to assume Ean was introduced to American parents merely as a phonetically altered form of Ian. In fact, we think Manx people pronounce Ean as EEN whereas Americans would say EE-an. Regardless how Ean found his way to the Top 1000 list, we find the background interesting. If you are a lover of Celtic culture and names, then Ean would be an unusual and original choice. American Idol runner-up Bo Bice would agree; he named his third son Ean Jacob in 2010.

Quick Facts

ON EAN

GENDER:

Boy

ORIGIN:

Celtic

NUMBER OF SYLLABLES:

2

RANKING POPULARITY:

851

PRONUNCIATION:

EE-an

SIMPLE MEANING:

God is gracious

Characteristics

OF EAN

Inspirational

Highly Intuitive

Spiritual Teacher

Extremely Bright

Uplifting

Truth-seeker

Cultural References to the Baby Name – Ean

Literary Characters

OF THE BABY NAME EAN

We cannot find any significant literary characters by the name of Ean

Childrens Books

ON THE BABY NAME EAN

We cannot find any childrens books with the first name Ean


Popular Songs

ON EAN

We cannot find any popular or well-known songs with the name of Ean


Famous People

NAMED EAN

Ean Evans (former bassist for Lynyrd Skynyrd)

Children of Famous People

NAMED EAN

We cannot find any children of famous people with the first name Ean

Historic Figures

WITH THE NAME EAN

We cannot find any historically significant people with the first name Ean