Kailan
Gai lan, kai-lan, Chinese broccoli, or Chinese kale is a leafy vegetable with thick, flat, glossy blue-green leaves with thick stems, and florets similar to broccoli. A Brassica oleracea cultivar, gai lan is in the group alboglabra. When gone to flower, its white blossoms resemble that of its cousin Matthiola incana or hoary stock.
Meaning & Origin of Kailan
What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.
Gai lan, kai-lan, Chinese broccoli, or Chinese kale is a leafy vegetable with thick, flat, glossy blue-green leaves with thick stems, and florets similar to broccoli. A Brassica oleracea cultivar, gai lan is in the group alboglabra. When gone to flower, its white blossoms resemble that of its cousin Matthiola incana or hoary stock.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →
The Story of Kailan
As a girl name
Kailan first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a girl name in 1988, with 7 babies given the name that year. Its peak popularity came in 2009, when 39 Kailans were born — ranking #3,944 that year. As of 2026, Kailan ranks #9,521 for girls with 10 births, holding steady (-1%). In total, more than 512 Kailans have been born in the U.S. since records began in 1880, spanning the 1980s through the 2020s.
As a boy name
Kailan first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a boy name in 1990, with 6 babies given the name that year. Its peak popularity came in 2026, when 52 Kailans were born — ranking #2,579 that year. As of 2026, Kailan ranks #2,579 for boys with 52 births, rising sharply (+97% over the past five years). In total, more than 670 Kailans have been born in the U.S. since records began in 1880, spanning the 1990s through the 2020s.
Popularity Over Time
Popularity by State
Names that sound like Kailan
Phonetically similar names — useful when Kailan 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 Kailan
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About the name Kailan
Kailan is a unisex baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1990 and has accumulated 670 births in the dataset. Kailan's peak popularity came in 2026 when it ranked #2,579. Use the chart and map above to compare Kailan's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.
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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.