The Baby Name Wizard

Reader Contributions

Contribute to, or edit, this collection of community wisdom on the name Eion!

Comments and insights on the name Eion: | Edit

Share what you know!

Personal experiences with the name Eion: | Edit

Share what you know!

Nicknames for Eion: | Edit

Share what you know!

Meanings and history of the name Eion: | Edit

Gaelic form of John, adopted into Gaelic in early medieval Ireland from the Latin name Ioannes. It was carried to Scotland by Irish settlers and has remained in use in both Irish and Scottish Gaelic to the present day. Its pronunciation is "OAÑ", with the same vowel as moan and with \Ñ\ as the Spanish ñ in señor or the French gn in montagne. The pronunciation evolved over time, but this pronunciation was used in both Irish and Scottish Gaelic past the end of the 17th century.

Iain is a modern Scottish Gaelic name, derived from Eoin but considered distinct from it in the same way that Jane and Joan are distinct in modern English. We have found no evidence that a name Iain existed before the 19th century. Ian is an English or Scots spelling of Iain, coined in the 19th century according to our evidence. We find no evidence of any Scottish name pronounced \EE-@n\ until modern times. \@\ represents a schwa, the sound of the a in about. (Information provided by http://medievalscotland.org/problem/names/iain.shtml)

Famous real-life people named Eion: | Edit

Eion Bailey, American actor.

Eion in song, story & screen: | Edit

Share what you know!