How rare is the name Nan?

9,307 people in the United States have the first name Nan, about 1 in 32,452. It ranks #2,583 of 53,615 first names in the 2020 Census, tied with 1 other.

first name

NAN

#2,583

of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census

People
9,307
About
1 in 32,452
This common or more
80.3%
Who bears it

Of the 9,307 people named Nan, 59.2% reported their origin as White, 34.3% as Asian or Pacific Islander and 2.9% as Black. 87.1% are female. These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.

Nan peaked in 1947, when 255 babies got the name.

Births per year, SSA records 1880–2025
18802022
Peak year
1947
Births that year
255
In 2022
6 ▼98%
Recorded as
almost entirely female

At least 10,274 babies have been given the name since 1880. Years SSA withheld, because fewer than 5 were born, are skipped rather than drawn as zero.

Nan by decade

Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 1880s, when it ranked #648. The largest share of babies named Nan, 36.5%, were born during the baby boom (1946–1964).

1880s#648322
1890s#702405
1900s#797457
1910s#1,198825
1920s#1,2191,198
1930s#9911,467
1940s#9462,099
1950s#1,1122,181
1960s#1,940877
1970s#4,994223
1980s#8,862121
1990s#17,04062
2000s#31,35424
2010s#43,4487
2020s#36,8006
Before 19017.6%
Greatest Generation 1901–2721.1%
Silent Generation 1928–4528.1%
Baby boom 1946–6436.5%
Generation X 1965–804.6%
Millennials 1981–961.6%
Generation Z 1997–120.3%
2013 and later0.1%

Rank counts both sexes together, among every name SSA recorded that decade; the number under it is births. The 2020s run only to 2025. Generation years follow Pew Research Center, which has not named a generation after 2012.

Where Nan is most common

Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Nan has been most common in Georgia (2.3×), Alabama (2.2×), and Pennsylvania (2.1×), and least common in Florida (0.33×).

5,690 births recorded by state, 1910–2025. 2× means twice as common as nationally. States with fewer than 30 such births are left blank, and SSA withholds any year with fewer than 5 in a state, so small states read low.

Exactly as common as Nan

1 other first name also has 9,307 people.

#2,583 Lisette · 9,307

Either side of Nan

#2,582 Jian · 9,308#2,583 Lisette · 9,307#2,585 Mable · 9,306#2,586 Valencia · 9,301

Spelled almost the same

8 first names in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Nan, most common first.

#2,709 Nam · 8,645#2,931 Nana · 7,719#11,082 Nani · 1,174#20,187 Nain · 514#23,114 Naun · 426#33,047 Nany · 252#33,410 Nano · 248#34,642 Nane · 235

Also a last name

As a last name, Nan ranks #25,954 of 156,621, with 993 people. See Nan as a last name

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