Aiden

A seventh-century Irish monk named Aedán of Lindisfarne carried his gospel to the wild Northumbrian coast in 635 A.D. and founded a monastery on the tidal island of Lindisfarne, which became one of the most important Christian centers in early medieval Britain (the Lindisfarne Gospels, an illuminated Latin gospel book made there around 700 A.D., is now in the British Library). His name came from the Old Irish aed, meaning fire, and the diminutive Aedán softened it to little fire — a name perfectly suited to a man who carried a literal flame across northern Britain.

The name lay almost dormant for a thousand years until late twentieth-century parents began discovering it. Aiden lit up the American baby charts in the 2000s, peaking inside the top ten in 2010, and spawned an entire rhyming dynasty of Brayden, Jayden, Kaden, Hayden, Cayden, Zayden, and other -aiden variants that briefly dominated boys' naming. The original Aiden has settled into a steady top-50 position, currently at rank forty-seven.

Famous Aidens include Aidan Quinn (the Irish-American actor), Aidan Turner (the Irish actor of Poldark and The Hobbit), Aidan Gillen (Game of Thrones' Littlefinger), and Aidan Hutchinson (the Detroit Lions defensive end). The name is spelled variously as Aiden, Aidan, Aedan, Ayden, and Aidyn, with Aiden the most common American spelling. Two bright syllables — AY-den — the opening a long vowel that opens the mouth, the ending clean and fast. Pairs cleanly with most modern middles (Aiden James, Aiden Wren, Aiden Cruz). Nicknames are scarce: Aid, Aidy. Modern in feel despite the very ancient ember at its core.