| Khalid | Ayan | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | eternal, immortal | watchful, seeing (disputed) |
| Origin | arabic | arabic |
| Gender | Boy | Boy |
| Pronunciation | KHAA-lid | ah-YAAN |
| Syllables | 2 | 2 |
| First appeared | 1962 | 0 |
| Peak year | 2019 (273) | 2025 (338) |
| In 2025 | 250 | 0 |
| Trend | Near its peak | Rising |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Khalid | Ayan |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 1,459 | 1,666 |
| 2010s | 2,092 | 1,807 |
| 2000s | 1,708 | 561 |
| 1990s | 1,546 | 47 |
| 1980s | 708 | 5 |
| 1970s | 600 | 5 |
| 1960s | 84 | 0 |
From the root kh-l-d (خ-ل-د, 'to be eternal, everlasting'), meaning 'eternal, immortal, undying'. Borne by the general Khalid ibn al-Walid. Also spelled Khaled.
A transliteration variant often treated as the same name as Ayaan. In the Arabic reading it is linked to 'ayn (ع-ي-ن, 'eye, sight'), giving 'watchful, seeing'. Other traditions connect it to a Turkic/Yakut word for 'journey' and to Somali 'good fortune', so the meaning is disputed.
Khalid is more popular than Ayan today: about 250 US babies were given the name Khalid in 2025, compared with 0 named Ayan.
Khalid means eternal, immortal (arabic origin), while Ayan means watchful, seeing (disputed) (arabic origin).
In US records, Khalid first appears in 1962 and Ayan in 0, so Ayan has the longer recorded history.