# Tan (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/tan/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A Chinese surname from Mandarin.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | Chinese |
| Type | not recorded |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 32,120 |
| US rank (2010) | 1,090 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 9,612 people |
| Change since 2000 | +49% (21,567 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | [t˭än], 1 syllable |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

From Mandarin 譚／谭 (Tán).

## Who carries it

Share of people named Tan in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 3.3% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 0.2% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 1.4% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 92% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.1% |
| Two or more races | 2.6% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Tan in the United States, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Malaysia, Australia and Qing dynasty.

## People named Tan

- Amy Tan, American novelist
- Shaun Tan, Australian illustrator, writer, and animated filmmaker (born 1974)
- Lewis Tan, British actor and martial artist
- Mika Tan, American pornographic actress
- Lianne Tan, Belgian badminton player
- Kevin Tan, American artistic gymnast
- Pearly Tan, badminton player
- Tan Yee Khan, badminton player
- Elizabeth Tan, British actress
- Tan Xinpei, actor (1847–1917)
- Tan Ruyin, association football player
- Tan Wei Han, badminton player

and 3 more on Wikidata.

## Similar surnames

Tawney, Tann, Tam, Tian, Than, Toney, Tamayo, Tom, Timm, Toomey, Tenney, Towne.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.