How common is the surname Tan?

32,120 people in the United States had the surname Tan in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 9,612 Americans. It ranked 1,090th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Tan?

Amy Tan, American novelist, followed by Shaun Tan.

Where is the surname Tan most common?

Wikidata records people named Tan in the United States, the United Kingdom and Belgium and 3 other countries.

Is the surname Tan getting more or less common?

More common. 21,567 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 32,120 in 2010, up 49%.

The surname Tan

A Chinese surname, carried by 32,120 people in the United States.

Pronounced [t˭än] 1 syllable Soundex T500

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Tan is more common than 99.3% of them.

Origin

Chinese origin

From Mandarin 譚／谭 (Tán).

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 32,120 people named Tan in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 9,612 Americans. That is up 49% since 2000, when the Census counted 21,567.

#1,090

rank among US surnames

32,120

people in 2010

per 100,000 Americans

+48.9%

change since 2000 (was #1,530)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#1,081	Goff	32,298	9,559
#1,082	Zapata	32,274	9,566
#1,083	Fulton	32,258	9,571
#1,084	Kang	32,221	9,582
#1,085	Sears	32,206	9,587
#1,086	Lehman	32,180	9,594
#1,087	Byers	32,174	9,596

Who is named Tan

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

92% of people named Tan identified as Asian and Pacific Islander, 3.3% as white (not Hispanic) and 2.6% as two or more races.

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

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

Famous Tans

15 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Amy Tan
American novelist, born 1952
Shaun Tan
Australian illustrator, writer, and animated filmmaker (born 1974)
Lewis Tan
British actor and martial artist, born 1987
Mika Tan
American pornographic actress, born 1977
Lianne Tan
Belgian badminton player, born 1990
Kevin Tan
American artistic gymnast, born 1981
Pearly Tan
Badminton player, born 2000
Tan Yee Khan
Badminton player, 1940–2026
Elizabeth Tan
British actress
Tan Xinpei
Actor (1847–1917)
Tan Ruyin
Association football player, born 1994
Tan Wei Han
Badminton player, born 1993

Notable Tans come mostly from the United States (4), the United Kingdom (2) and Belgium (2).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Tan

Tan has the Soundex code T500, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code T500.

Other Chinese surnames

All 193 Chinese surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Tan come from?: From Mandarin 譚／谭 (Tán).
How common is the surname Tan?: 32,120 people in the United States had the surname Tan in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 9,612 Americans. It ranked 1,090th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Tan?: In the 2010 Census, 92% of people named Tan identified as Asian and Pacific Islander, and 3.3% as white (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Tan?: Amy Tan, American novelist, followed by Shaun Tan.
Where is the surname Tan most common?: Wikidata records people named Tan in the United States, the United Kingdom and Belgium and 3 other countries.
How do you pronounce Tan?: Tan is [t˭än], one syllable.
Is the surname Tan getting more or less common?: More common. 21,567 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 32,120 in 2010, up 49%.