Adrian comes from the Roman family name Hadrianus and means "from Hadria", a town in northern Italy that also gave the Adriatic Sea its name. Emperor Hadrian built the great wall across northern England, and Adrian IV was the only English pope. Adrian ranked number 78 in the United States in 2000, peaked at number 56 in 2008 and has stayed in the 50s, 60s and 70s ever since, standing at number 74 among boys in 2025.