Aidan

From the Irish name Aodhán, a diminutive of Aodh, meaning fire. It belonged to a seventh-century monk who established the monastery at Lindisfarne off the coast of Northumbria. American parents kept it obscure for most of the twentieth century before adopting it rapidly in the late 1990s.

An Aidan is almost invariably pictured between high school graduation and junior year of college. The name carries the distinct cadence of turn-of-the-century suburban playgrounds. It sounds gentle and modern, with just enough Celtic ancestry to look intentional on an birth announcement. The primary hazard remains being called simultaneously with three classmates who spell it differently.