The 13th day of the Baby Name Advent brings us a rather cozy name meaning ‘little fire’ – Aiden! Aiden/Aidan is such a popular name these days, though it was not so long ago that it was little used outside of the UK. The name took on whole new levels of stardom when it was used for a character in a certain HBO series in the early 2000s. I’ve loved this name since the early nineties when the character, Aidan Brosnan, appeared in Eastenders, but I’d never heard of it before then. Now my kids go to school with a multitude of little Aidens!
For more winter-inspired baby names, please visit the Baby Name Advent page!
meaning
Little fire
pronunciation
AY-din
origin
Celtic; Irish – Aodhán; Scottish Gaelic – Aodhàn; Welsh – Aeddan
popularity
In the US, Aiden began a quite dramatic rise in popularity beginning in the early 1990s. It reached the top 10 in 2010 and has remained within the top 20 for the past decade and is still going strong!
nicknames
Aid, Aidy
NOTABLE PEOPLE & CHARACTERS
Aidan Quinn (born 1959), American actor
Aidan Brosnan, fictional character played by Sean Maguire in the television series EastEnders
Aidan Shaw, fictional character played by John Corbett in the television series Sex and the City
Aiden Burn, fictional female character in the television series CSI: NY
