Aryan is a distinctive boys' name in United States, ranking #671 in 2012 with 352 recorded births. The name reached its all-time peak in 2007 with 406 births ranking #613. Since 1996, the popularity has increased by 1,203.7%. In 2012, approximately 1 in every 5,388 boys born was named Aryan. FALLING Recent data shows the name is currently falling.
Aryan is a name with roots in Sanskrit and the wider Indo-Iranian tradition, where it is associated with the idea of nobility. In South Asian naming, it is often chosen with that traditional meaning in mind.
The name has a legitimate history in South Asian and related traditions, but modern global use can be complicated by later political misuse of the word in a very different context. That makes cultural context especially important when writing about it.