Lan
Lan is a personal name, frequently used in Chinese and Vietnamese contexts as a feminine given name, which means "orchid" in Vietnamese.
- Chinese
- Vietnamese
- Slovene
Meaning & Origin of Lan
What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.
Lan is a personal name, frequently used in Chinese and Vietnamese contexts as a feminine given name, which means "orchid" in Vietnamese.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →
Cultural Origins (via Behind the Name)
- Chinese
- Vietnamese
- Slovene
The Story of Lan
As a girl name
Lan first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a girl name in 1972, with 9 babies given the name that year. The name hit its high-water mark in 1982: 47 births, good for #2,150 nationwide. About 44% of every Lan on record arrived during the 1980s, its defining decade. Lan last appeared in the published SSA data in 2019, with 5 recorded births — it has not charted nationally since. All told, over 769 Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1970s to the 2020s.
As a boy name
The earliest SSA record of Lan as a boy name dates back to 1948, when 6 babies received it. 1981 was its biggest year on record, with 19 newborns named Lan — #2,496 in the national rankings. About 35% of every Lan on record arrived during the 1980s, its defining decade. Lan last appeared in the published SSA data in 2024, with 9 recorded births — it has not charted nationally since. All told, over 310 Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1940s to the 2020s.
Popularity Over Time
Popularity by State
Variants & Related Forms of Lan
Foreign forms, alternate spellings, and nicknames that share roots with Lan. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Names that sound like Lan
Phonetically similar names — useful when Lan 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 Lan
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About the name Lan
Lan is a unisex baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1972 and has accumulated 769 births in the dataset. Lan's peak popularity came in 1982 when it ranked #2,150. Use the chart and map above to compare Lan's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.
Continue exploring
- Top names of 1982 →
- Names of the 1980s →
- Names starting with "L" →
- Browse all girl names →
- Top names of 2026 →
- Browse unisex names →
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.