# Yan (surname)

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

A surname from Mandarin.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | Chinese |
| Type | not recorded |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 11,354 |
| US rank (2010) | 3,182 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 27,193 people |
| Change since 2000 | +42% (8,016 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /jæn/, 1 syllable |
| Variant spellings | Yen |

## Etymology

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

## Who carries it

Share of people named Yan 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) | 3.0% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 1.3% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 94% |
| Two or more races | 1.1% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Yan in the United States, Eastern Han, Argentina and Qi.

## People named Yan

- Cathy Yan, American director and producer
- Empress Yan Ji, 2nd century Han dynasty empress
- Romina Yan, Argentine actress, television personality and screenwriter (1974-2010)
- Yan Ying, ancient Chinese philosopher and politician from the state of Qi in the 6th century BC

## Similar surnames

Yuan, Yawn, Yano, Yam, Yoon, Yun, Yuen, Yin, Yim, Yen, Yon, Yohn.

## 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.