Mulan
Hua Mulan is a legendary Chinese folk heroine from the Northern and Southern dynasties era of Chinese history. Scholars generally consider Mulan to be a fictional character. Hua Mulan is depicted in the Wu Shuang Pu by Jin Guliang.
Meaning & Origin of Mulan
What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.
Hua Mulan is a legendary Chinese folk heroine from the Northern and Southern dynasties era of Chinese history. Scholars generally consider Mulan to be a fictional character. Hua Mulan is depicted in the Wu Shuang Pu by Jin Guliang.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →
The Story of Mulan
Mulan first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby girl name in 1998, with 16 babies given the name that year. Its peak popularity came in 2020, when 71 Mulans were born — ranking #2,439 that year. As of 2026, Mulan ranks #2,668 for baby girls with 65 births, rising sharply (+24% over the past five years). In total, more than 801 Mulans 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 Mulan
Phonetically similar names — useful when Mulan 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 Mulan
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About the name Mulan
Mulan is a girl baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1998 and has accumulated 801 births in the dataset. Mulan's peak popularity came in 2020 when it ranked #2,439. Use the chart and map above to compare Mulan's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.
Continue exploring
- Top names of 2020 →
- Names of the 2020s →
- Names starting with "M" →
- Browse all girl 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.