# Yan (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/yan/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys and girls |
| Origin | not recorded |
| Meaning | not recorded |
| Pronunciation | /jæn/, 1 syllable |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | Yen |
| US babies named this | 1,085 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 986 / 99 (9% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 240, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From the Hanyu Pinyin romanization of the Mandarin 嚴 /严 (yán).

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1988 | 5 | 13,847 |
| 1997 | 6 | 13,685 |
| 1998 | 7 | 12,400 |
| 2000 | 11 | 9,147 |
| 2001 | 5 | 17,897 |
| 2002 | 7 | 13,550 |
| 2003 | 7 | 13,796 |
| 2004 | 5 | 18,730 |
| 2005 | 5 | 19,099 |
| 2006 | 7 | 15,091 |
| 2007 | 8 | 13,875 |
| 2010 | 5 | 19,715 |
| 2015 | 5 | 19,002 |
| 2016 | 6 | 16,144 |
| 2017 | 5 | 18,329 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 26 | 3,986 |
| 2012 | 24 | 4,245 |
| 2013 | 21 | 4,615 |
| 2014 | 29 | 3,689 |
| 2015 | 18 | 5,281 |
| 2016 | 30 | 3,678 |
| 2017 | 35 | 3,311 |
| 2018 | 34 | 3,371 |
| 2019 | 24 | 4,328 |
| 2020 | 25 | 4,135 |
| 2021 | 25 | 4,240 |
| 2022 | 28 | 3,989 |
| 2023 | 44 | 2,893 |
| 2024 | 44 | 2,909 |
| 2025 | 58 | 2,386 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 3 | 3,912 |
| 2002 | 4 | 3,409 |
| 2003 | 5 | 3,099 |
| 2004 | 3 | 4,598 |
| 2005 | 3 | 4,798 |
| 2006 | 5 | 3,548 |
| 2007 | 5 | 3,667 |
| 2008 | 5 | 3,860 |
| 2009 | 11 | 2,148 |
| 2010 | 8 | 2,843 |
| 2011 | 7 | 3,185 |
| 2013 | 5 | 4,050 |
| 2014 | 8 | 2,862 |
| 2016 | 3 | 5,785 |
| 2023 | 3 | 5,687 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 9 | 2,126 |
| 2010 | 8 | 2,400 |
| 2011 | 9 | 2,194 |
| 2012 | 6 | 3,039 |
| 2013 | 7 | 2,660 |
| 2014 | 3 | 4,632 |
| 2015 | 5 | 3,373 |
| 2016 | 5 | 3,478 |
| 2017 | 7 | 2,734 |
| 2018 | 6 | 3,011 |
| 2020 | 4 | 3,848 |
| 2021 | 8 | 2,493 |
| 2023 | 3 | 4,991 |
| 2024 | 6 | 3,254 |
| 2025 | 8 | 2,664 |

## People named Yan

- Mo Yan, Chinese novelist and screenwriter
- Cai Yan, 3rd century Chinese poet and musician
- Yan Couto, Brazilian footballer (born 2002)
- Wang Yan, Chinese racewalker
- Yan Sen, Chinese table tennis player
- Guo Yan, Chinese table tennis player
- Yan Pascal Tortelier, French conductor and violinist
- Zhou Yan, Chinese curler
- Yan Vorogovskiy, association football player
- Yan Stastny, Canadian ice hockey player
- Wu Jinyan, Chinese actress
- Yan Brice Eteki, association football player

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.