| Logan | Ian | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Little hollow | God is gracious |
| Origin | Scottish | scottish |
| Gender | Boy | Boy |
| Pronunciation | LOH-gun | EE-uhn |
| Syllables | 2 | 2 |
| First appeared | 1880 | 1912 |
| Peak year | 2007 (15,331) | 2005 (6,688) |
| In 2025 | 5,576 | 3,924 |
| Trend | Declining | Declining |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Logan | Ian |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 44,192 | 26,113 |
| 2010s | 126,850 | 52,475 |
| 2000s | 134,033 | 61,925 |
| 1990s | 63,577 | 54,007 |
| 1980s | 13,983 | 37,770 |
| 1970s | 1,485 | 17,186 |
| 1960s | 547 | 4,977 |
| 1950s | 532 | 1,670 |
| 1940s | 507 | 779 |
| 1930s | 482 | 445 |
| 1920s | 693 | 225 |
| 1910s | 566 | 92 |
| 1900s | 136 | 0 |
| 1890s | 149 | 0 |
| 1880s | 267 | 0 |
Logan is a Scottish surname and place name from the Gaelic lagan, “little hollow.” A surname turned first name, it has soared in recent decades for boys and, increasingly, girls.
The Scottish Gaelic form of John (Iain), ultimately from Hebrew 'Yochanan' meaning 'Yahweh is gracious.' One of several John-root names carrying the 'God is gracious' sense.
Logan is more popular than Ian today: about 5,576 US babies were given the name Logan in 2025, compared with 3,924 named Ian.
Logan means Little hollow (Scottish origin), while Ian means God is gracious (scottish origin).
In US records, Logan first appears in 1880 and Ian in 1912, so Logan has the longer recorded history.