How common is the surname Gan?

2,891 people in the United States had the surname Gan in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 106,795 Americans. It ranked 11,003rd of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Gan?

Gan De, 4th-century BC Chinese astronomer and astrologer, followed by Chester Gan.

Where is the surname Gan most common?

Wikidata records people named Gan in Qi and the United States.

Is the surname Gan getting more or less common?

More common. 2,309 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 2,891 in 2010, up 25%.

The surname Gan

A Chinese surname, carried by 2,891 people in the United States.

1 syllable Soundex G500

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Gan is more common than 93.2% of them.

Origin

Chinese origin

Borrowed from Mandarin 甘 (Gān), Hokkien 顏／颜 (Gân), etc.

One of 193 Chinese surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 2,891 people named Gan in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 106,795 Americans. That is up 25% since 2000, when the Census counted 2,309.

#11,003

rank among US surnames

2,891

people in 2010

1.0

per 100,000 Americans

+25.2%

change since 2000 (was #12,343)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#10,998	Killebrew	2,892	106,758
#11,003	Charpentier	2,891	106,795
#11,007	Hipolito	2,890	106,832
#11,010	Guardiola	2,889	106,869

Who is named Gan

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

73% of people named Gan identified as Asian and Pacific Islander, 21% as white (not Hispanic) and 2.8% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

Asian and Pacific Islander 73%
White (not Hispanic) 21%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.8%
Two or more races 2.1%

The Census suppresses very small shares to protect privacy; Black, Native American are not shown.

Compare: most common surnames among Asian and Pacific Islander Americans.

Famous Gans

2 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Gan De
4th-century BC Chinese astronomer and astrologer, -400–-400
Chester Gan
American actor (1908-1959)

Notable Gans come mostly from Qi (1) and the United States (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Gan

Gan has the Soundex code G500, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code G500.

Other Chinese surnames

All 193 Chinese surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Gan come from?: Borrowed from Mandarin 甘 (Gān), Hokkien 顏／颜 (Gân), etc.
How common is the surname Gan?: 2,891 people in the United States had the surname Gan in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 106,795 Americans. It ranked 11,003rd of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Gan?: In the 2010 Census, 73% of people named Gan identified as Asian and Pacific Islander, and 21% as white (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Gan?: Gan De, 4th-century BC Chinese astronomer and astrologer, followed by Chester Gan.
Where is the surname Gan most common?: Wikidata records people named Gan in Qi and the United States.
Is the surname Gan getting more or less common?: More common. 2,309 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 2,891 in 2010, up 25%.