boys' name ★ peaked 1955

Alan

Gender Boy Rank 2025 #191 Trend → Stable

From Old Breton Alan, name of early Breton saints, of disputed origin and meaning; brought to England by Normans.

Rank 2025
#191
among boys · ↓24 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
1,915
named Alan · -12% vs 2024
How common
1 in 892
boys born in 2025
Peak year
1955
9,052 babies
All-time total
364,389
#94 all-time among boys
First recorded
1882
in Social Security records

Alan popularity over time

364,389 babies have been named Alan since 1882, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
1.252.53.75518801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
BoysGirls

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s – 51 51 5 – #604
1890s – 144 144 14 +182% #426
1900s – 293 293 29 +103% #348
1910s – 2,020 2,020 202 +589% #299
1920s 32 7,013 7,045 705 +249% #146
1930s 35 16,374 16,409 1,641 +133% #85
1940s 90 50,302 50,392 5,039 +207% #45
1950s 142 83,976 84,118 8,412 +67% #40
1960s 195 61,392 61,587 6,159 -27% #50
1970s 145 24,813 24,958 2,496 -59% #91
1980s 172 26,825 26,997 2,700 +8% #102
1990s 104 24,094 24,198 2,420 -10% #126
2000s 94 29,647 29,741 2,974 +23% #122
2010s 67 24,199 24,266 2,427 -18% #153
2020s (to 2025) – 12,170 12,170 2,028 -16% #167

Where Alan is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 boys (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 boys Implied rank
2026 1,914 1.12 #192
2027 1,914 1.12 #192
2028 1,913 1.12 #192
2029 1,913 1.12 #192
2030 1,912 1.12 #192

Where Alan is most popular

Boys named Alan per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 1.18 per 1,000. Strongest in Texas, California, and Nevada.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are boys named Alan born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Boys 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Texas 1,788 2.03 +72%
California 1,780 1.95 +65%
Nevada 109 1.91 +62%
Arizona 297 1.82 +54%
Illinois 452 1.77 +50%
Florida 820 1.73 +47%
Nebraska 72 1.66 +40%
Colorado 208 1.61 +36%
New Mexico 50 1.52 +28%
Oregon 111 1.46 +24%
New York 626 1.45 +22%
New Jersey 288 1.43 +21%
Washington 217 1.33 +12%
Oklahoma 117 1.32 +12%
Idaho 53 1.30 +10%
District of Columbia 19 1.29 +9%
Maryland 147 1.23 ≈ national
Utah 115 1.20 ≈ national
Tennessee 217 1.20 ≈ national
Connecticut 80 1.18 ≈ national
Kansas 80 1.17 ≈ national
Indiana 187 1.17 ≈ national
Georgia 288 1.14 ≈ national
Alabama 122 1.12 -6%
Rhode Island 18 1.10 -7%
Massachusetts 149 1.08 -8%
North Carolina 274 1.07 -9%
Iowa 73 1.06 -10%
South Carolina 108 1.05 -12%
Virginia 188 0.991 -16%
Arkansas 60 0.948 -20%
Kentucky 91 0.907 -23%
Minnesota 110 0.897 -24%
Delaware 13 0.857 -27%
Pennsylvania 227 0.855 -28%
Mississippi 47 0.827 -30%
Wisconsin 90 0.760 -36%
Ohio 161 0.607 -49%
Louisiana 61 0.596 -50%
Missouri 75 0.541 -54%
Michigan 110 0.537 -55%
South Dakota 6 0.322 -73%
Alaska – – –
Hawaii – – –
Maine – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
New Hampshire – – –
Vermont – – –
West Virginia – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Alan

Alan is moderately common for boys in the United States, ranked #191 in 2025 with 1,915 babies given the name. It is currently holding steady compared with a decade ago.

Since 1882, 364,389 American babies have been named Alan. Its peak came in 1955, when 9,052 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1950s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Alan stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Alan?

The median living Alan is about 56 years old; half are between 28 and 69. An estimated 280 thousand people named Alan are alive in the United States today.

median 56 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Alan year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 – – 1,915 #191
2024 – – 2,188 #167
2023 – – 2,164 #167
2022 – – 2,006 #189
2021 – – 1,931 #197
2020 – – 1,966 #194
2019 – – 2,142 #182
2018 5 #15,776 2,250 #174
2017 5 #16,018 2,442 #159
2016 5 #16,349 2,630 #155
2015 13 #8,471 2,487 #167
2014 9 #11,011 2,500 #170
2013 9 #11,053 2,607 #153
2012 12 #9,134 2,285 #170
2011 9 #11,222 2,343 #164
2010 – – 2,513 #156
2009 7 #13,775 2,847 #142
2008 – – 3,027 #135
2007 8 #12,716 3,249 #130
2006 6 #15,212 3,475 #122
2005 13 #8,351 3,205 #128
2004 17 #6,781 3,062 #132
2003 17 #6,589 3,098 #131
2002 7 #12,232 2,625 #150
2001 7 #12,112 2,644 #148
2000 12 #8,046 2,415 #161
1995 9 #8,782 2,293 #153
1990 15 #5,839 2,640 #126
1985 19 #4,128 2,684 #109
1980 20 #3,856 2,671 #112
1975 15 #4,142 2,248 #115
1970 23 #2,938 3,553 #91
1965 17 #3,050 5,612 #59
1960 21 #2,649 8,356 #50
1955 15 #2,972 9,037 #43
1950 13 #2,912 7,737 #41
1945 9 #3,133 5,073 #52
1940 6 #3,868 2,377 #88
1935 – – 1,425 #122
1930 9 #3,057 1,301 #136
1925 – – 804 #179
1920 – – 433 #263
1915 – – 238 #346
1910 – – 59 #321
1905 – – 23 #463
1900 – – 27 #431
1895 – – 21 #426
1890 – – 12 #566
1885 – – 10 #604
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Alan

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Alan Rickman Alan Rickman English actor (1946–2016) Contemporary
  2. 2 Alan Turing Alan Turing English computer scientist (1912–1954) Contemporary
  3. 3 Alan Alda Alan Alda American actor (born 1936) Contemporary
  4. 4 Alan Shearer Alan Shearer English former footballer and pundit (born 1970) Contemporary
  5. 5 Alan Greenspan Alan Greenspan American economist (1926–2026) Contemporary
  6. 6 Alan Arkin Alan Arkin American actor and filmmaker (1934–2023) Contemporary
  7. 7 Alan Watts Alan Watts British and American writer and lecturer (1915–1973) Contemporary
  8. 8 Alan Moore Alan Moore British writer (born 1953) Contemporary
  9. 9 Alan Shepard Alan Shepard American astronaut (1923–1998) Contemporary
  10. 10 Alan Ladd Alan Ladd American actor (1913–1964) Contemporary
  11. 11 Alan Parsons Alan Parsons English audio engineer, musician, and record producer (born 1948) Contemporary
  12. 12 Alan Menken Alan Menken American composer (born 1949) Contemporary
  13. 13 Alan Bates Alan Bates English actor (1934–2003) Contemporary
  14. 14 Alan Silvestri Alan Silvestri American composer and conductor (born 1950) Contemporary
  15. 15 Alan Dale Alan Dale New Zealand actor (born 1947) Contemporary
  16. 16 Alan J. Pakula Alan J. Pakula American filmmaker (1928–1998) Contemporary
  17. 17 Alan Parker Alan Parker English filmmaker (1944–2020) Contemporary
  18. 18 Alan Bean Alan Bean American astronaut and lunar explorer (1932–2018) Contemporary
  19. 19 Alan Jones Alan Jones Australian racing driver (born 1946) Contemporary
  20. 20 Alan García Alan García President of Peru (1985–1990 and 2006–2011) 1949–2019 · Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Alan, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Alan?

The median living Alan is about 56 years old. Half of all living Alans are between 28 and 69 years old.

How many people named Alan are alive today?

An estimated 280 thousand people named Alan are alive in the United States, based on 364,389 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Alan mean?

From Old Breton Alan, name of early Breton saints, of disputed origin and meaning; brought to England by Normans.

How popular is the name Alan in 2025?

Alan ranked #191 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 1,915 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Alan?

364,389 babies have been named Alan in the United States since 1882, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Alan most popular?

Alan peaked in 1955, when 9,052 newborns received the name.

Is Alan a boy or girl name?

Alan is overwhelmingly a boy's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Alan rising or falling?

Alan has been roughly stable over the past decade.

Will Alan become more popular?

Alan looks stable. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 1,912 boys named Alan in 2030, ranking around #192. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Alan?

Well-known people named Alan include Alan Rickman (actor), Alan Turing (computer scientist), Alan Alda (actor).

Names like Alan

Names that sound and feel close to Alan: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Alan with similar names → More names starting with A →