Meaning and history
Alan is an old Breton name whose exact origin remains uncertain; it may come from a Brythonic expression meaning "little rock" or from the name of the Alans, an Iranian people who entered Europe in late antiquity. Used in Brittany by the sixth century, it reached England with Breton settlers after the Norman Conquest. Famous bearers include mathematician and computing pioneer Alan Turing and astronaut Alan Shepard.
20062006: 3,475 births, rank #122
2007: 3,249 births, rank #130
2008: 3,027 births, rank #135
2009: 2,847 births, rank #142
2010: 2,513 births, rank #156
20112011: 2,343 births, rank #164
2012: 2,285 births, rank #170
2013: 2,607 births, rank #153
2014: 2,500 births, rank #170
2015: 2,487 births, rank #167
20162016: 2,630 births, rank #155
2017: 2,442 births, rank #159
2018: 2,250 births, rank #174
2019: 2,142 births, rank #182
2020: 1,966 births, rank #194
20212021: 1,931 births, rank #197
2022: 2,006 births, rank #189
2023: 2,164 births, rank #167
2024: 2,188 births, rank #167
20252025: 1,915 births, rank #191
Alan moved from #167 to #191 for boys between 2024 and 2025. Its highest annual birth count came in 1955, with 9,037 births.