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• Ian
  Ian

  noun

  a male given name, Scottish form of John.
• -ian
  -ian

  a suffix with the same meaning and properties as -an, though -ian is now the more productive of the two suffixes in recent coinages, especially when the base noun ends in a consonant: Orwellian; Washingtonian .

Ian

¹ American  

[ee-uhn, ee-ahn, ahy-uhn] / ˈi ən, ˈi ɑn, ˈaɪ ən /

noun

1. a male given name, Scottish form of John.

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-ian ² American  

1. a suffix with the same meaning and properties as -an, though -ian is now the more productive of the two suffixes in recent coinages, especially when the base noun ends in a consonant: Orwellian; Washingtonian .

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-ian British  

suffix

1. a variant of -an

   Etonian

   Johnsonian

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Etymology

Origin of -ian

Extracted from Latin loanwords in which -ānus (adjective suffix) is joined to stems ending in i; see -an

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Ian -ian

The 137-room-hotel comes courtesy of Ian Schrager, the 80-year-old hotelier who co-founded the iconic Studio 54.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2026

Former Falkirk manager Ian McCall was in accord with Sutton, and former Rangers striker Kris Boyd, who said he "couldn't see what Celtic were trying to do".

From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2026

Ian McKellen is saying goodbye to his dear friend Patrick Stewart.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2026

While ‘Star Trek’ and ‘X-Men’ defined his Hollywood career, Patrick Stewart’s classical training shaped acclaimed stage work, including ‘Hamlet,’ ‘Macbeth’ and collaborations with Ian McKellen.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2026

“Theo, concession stand. Evan and Ian, bleacher duty.”

From "Made You Up" by Francesca Zappia

The adjectivally ennobled: the ones whose names sprout "-esque" and "-ian".

From The Guardian ● Jan. 15, 2013

Note.—These verbs have no trace of original umlaut, since their -ian was once -ōjan.

From Anglo-Saxon Grammar and Exercise Book with Inflections, Syntax, Selections for Reading, and Glossary by C. Alphonso (Charles Alphonso) Smith

Distinction is to be made, therefore, only between Classes II and I. Class II contains the verbs with infinitive in -ian not preceded by r.

From Anglo-Saxon Grammar and Exercise Book with Inflections, Syntax, Selections for Reading, and Glossary by C. Alphonso (Charles Alphonso) Smith

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