Alan
Alan is a masculine given name in the English and Breton languages. Its surname form is Aland.
Meaning & Origin of Alan
What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.
Alan is a masculine given name in the English and Breton languages. Its surname form is Aland.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →
The Story of Alan
Alan first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby boy name in 1882, with 6 babies given the name that year. Its peak popularity came in 1955, when 9,033 Alans were born — ranking #43 that year. As of 2026, Alan ranks #161 for baby boys with 2,237 births, holding steady (+1%). In total, more than 366K Alans have been born in the U.S. since records began in 1880, spanning the 1880s through the 2020s.
Popularity Over Time
Popularity by State
Names that sound like Alan
Phonetically similar names — useful when Alan is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.
Frequently Asked Questions about Alan
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About the name Alan
Alan is a boy baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1882 and has accumulated 366K births in the dataset. Alan's peak popularity came in 1955 when it ranked #40. Use the chart and map above to compare Alan's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.
Continue exploring
- Top names of 1955 →
- Names of the 1950s →
- Names starting with "A" →
- Browse all boy names →
- Top names of 2026 →
Data sources
- Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
- Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
- Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
- Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
- Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .
Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.