as a First Name
Of Celtic origin and uncertain derivation (possibly a diminutive of a word meaning ‘rock’). It was introduced into England by Breton followers of William the Conqueror, most notably Alan, Earl of Brittany, who was rewarded for his services with vast estates in the newly conquered kingdom. In Britain the variants Allan and Allen are considerably less frequent, and generally represent transferred uses of surname forms, whereas in America all three forms of the name are approximately equally common. See also Alun.
| 163rd in the U.S. for 2011 |
Nicknames & variations
Quick facts
- Hundreds of thousands
- of people in the U.S have this name
- 311,372
- to be exact (as of February 2011)
- 327,192
- if you include dead people (since the government started keeping track)
- Hawaii
- has the most people named Alan per capita
- 1951
- marked the height of its popularity
0.02%
99.98%
38%
55+
55+
36%
30-54
30-54
11%
13-29
13-29
15%
0-12
0-12
Top state populations
U.S. Distribution Map
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