How to write “Ian” in Korean
이안 i-an
What Korean friends call you
- 이안아 i-a-na — a friend calling out to you (never to someone older)
- 이안 씨 i-an-ssi — polite: someone you just met, or at work
Calling someone, Koreans add 아 after a final consonant and 야 after a vowel.
- Watch
- Trace
- Write
Korean spellings of Ian
- 이언 173 (84%)
- 이안 32 (16%)
Korean labels of 205 people named Ian on Wikidata, October 2026. Wikipedia leans to the official spelling.
The official loanword spelling (외래어 표기법) is 이언; most Koreans write 이안.
Korean news (Daum, October 2026) writes Ian McKellen 이안 (sometimes 이언); Ian Thorpe 이언 (sometimes 이안); Ian Kinsler 이안 (sometimes 이언).
Well-known people named Ian, as Wikidata writes them in Korean (November 2026):
- Ian Holm — 이안 홈
- Ian Maatsen — 이안 마트센
- Ian Stevenson — 이안 스티븐슨
- Ian Buruma — 이안 부루마
255,263 babies were named Ian in the US from 1960 to 2025, the 171st most common name.
Block by block
- 이 = ㅇ + ㅣ · 2 strokes
Also in 이: Jacob 제이콥 · Michael 마이클 · David 데이비드
- 안 = ㅇ + ㅏ + ㄴ · 4 strokes
Also in 안: Anna 안나 · Juan 후안 · Adrian 아드리안
이안 takes 6 strokes in all.
More names: Owen 오언 · Nathaniel 나다니엘 · Destiny 데스티니 · Carter 카터 · Kaitlyn 케이틀린
Another name? Write any name in Korean →