Nan
Nan is a name with multiple cultural origins: English, Chinese.
- English
- Chinese
Meaning & Origin of Nan
What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.
Nan is a name with multiple cultural origins: English, Chinese.
Origin data from Behind the Name .
Cultural Origins (via Behind the Name)
- English
- Chinese
The Story of Nan
American parents first put Nan on the record books as a baby girl name in 1880, with 16 registered babies. Its peak popularity came in 1947, when 255 Nans were born — ranking #520 that year. About 21% of every Nan on record arrived during the 1950s, its defining decade. Nan last appeared in the published SSA data in 2022, with 6 recorded births — it has not charted nationally since. All told, over 10K Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1880s to the 2020s.
Popularity Over Time
Popularity by State
Variants & Related Forms of Nan
Foreign forms, alternate spellings, and nicknames that share roots with Nan. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Names that sound like Nan
Phonetically similar names — useful when Nan 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 Nan
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In which U.S. states is Nan most popular?
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About the name Nan
Nan is a girl baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1880 and has accumulated 10K births in the dataset. Nan's peak popularity came in 1947 when it ranked #520. Use the chart and map above to compare Nan's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.
Continue exploring
- Top names of 1947 →
- Names of the 1940s →
- Names starting with "N" →
- 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.