Kian

Kian is a single syllable that does an enormous amount of work. In Persian it derives from the royal house of Kiani, a dynasty of legendary kings; in Irish it descends from Cian, an ancient name meaning enduring or long-lived, worn by a son-in-law of the high king Brian Boru. The result is a name with two entirely separate pedigrees, both regal, both ancient. Kian rings out in the 416 range in the U.S., compact and modern-sounding, equally at home in Tehran, Dublin, or Brooklyn. Two letters of sound, centuries of weight. Few names travel that lightly.