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Name Lineage

    The surname Yan

    A Chinese surname, carried by 11,354 people in the United States.

    Pronounced /jæn/ 1 syllable Soundex Y500 Also a first name

    Yan: #3,182 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott#10Martinez#100Jimenez#1,000Archer#10,001Dubon Yan #3,182, 11,354 people Yan: #3,182 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott#100Jimenez Yan #3,182, 11,354 people
    Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Yan is more common than 98% of them.

    Origin

    Chinese origin

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

    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 11,354 people named Yan in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 27,193 Americans. That is up 42% since 2000, when the Census counted 8,016.

    #3,182
    rank among US surnames
    11,354
    people in 2010
    3.9
    per 100,000 Americans
    +41.6%
    change since 2000 (was #4,091)
    RankSurnamePeople1 in
    #3,173Roush11,38627,116
    #3,174Zamudio11,38427,121
    #3,175Mancini11,38227,126
    #3,176Withers11,38127,128
    #3,177Sisson11,38027,131
    #3,178Pepper11,37427,145
    #3,179Choate11,37227,150

    Who is named Yan

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

    94% of people named Yan identified as Asian and Pacific Islander, 3.0% as white (not Hispanic) and 1.3% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

    • Asian and Pacific Islander 94%
    • White (not Hispanic) 3.0%
    • Hispanic or Latino (any race) 1.3%
    • Two or more races 1.1%
    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 Yans

    4 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

    • Cathy Yan
      American director and producer, born 1983
    • Empress Yan Ji
      2nd century Han dynasty empress, 100–126
    • 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, -577–-499

    Notable Yans come mostly from the United States (1), Eastern Han (1) and Argentina (1).

    Spellings and sound-alikes

    Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

    Variant spellings

    Surnames that sound like Yan

    Yan has the Soundex code Y500, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code Y500.

    Other Chinese surnames

    All 193 Chinese surnames

    Questions

    Where does the surname Yan come from?
    From the Hanyu Pinyin romanization of the Mandarin 嚴 /严 (yán).
    How common is the surname Yan?
    11,354 people in the United States had the surname Yan in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 27,193 Americans. It ranked 3,182nd of 162,253 surnames.
    What ethnicity is the surname Yan?
    In the 2010 Census, 94% of people named Yan identified as Asian and Pacific Islander, and 3.0% as white (not Hispanic).
    Who is the most famous person named Yan?
    Cathy Yan, American director and producer, followed by Empress Yan Ji.
    Where is the surname Yan most common?
    Wikidata records people named Yan in the United States, Eastern Han and Argentina and 1 other country.
    How do you pronounce Yan?
    Yan is /jæn/, one syllable.
    Is the surname Yan getting more or less common?
    More common. 8,016 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 11,354 in 2010, up 42%.
    What are other spellings of Yan?
    Yen.
    Is Yan also a first name?
    Yes. Yan is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.