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Iain (M)>

Iain (male)

Synonym(s):Eoin (M) John (M)
Variants:Eoin (M) Ian (M) John (M) Seathan (M)
   
Source(s): The Oxford Names Companion, OUP
"Scottish Forenames" - Donald Whyte, FGH, FSG
Personal communication [IS]
Notes:

Scottish Gaelic form of John [q.v], from Hebrew "God has been gracious". More popular in Scotland than Ian.

A correspondent [IS] notes that in Skye, Scotland, Gaelic-speakers use John and Ian/Iain/Eoin interchangeably. In Gaelic areas with a reasonable influx of English speakers, the names might therefore be considered to be synonyms.