Alanna
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Meaning
feminine form of Alan; meaning uncertain
The story
Alanna is a feminine form of Alan, closely related to Alana, with Lana as a short form. Alan’s original meaning is uncertain. One proposal connects it with an old Celtic expression for "little rock"; another links it to the Alans, an Iranian people who entered Europe toward the end of the ancient era. These remain alternative explanations.
Alan was used in Brittany by the sixth century. Breton settlers later carried it to England after the Norman Conquest. This is the history of the parent name, rather than a date for Alanna itself. The neighboring spelling Alannah has an additional Irish association with a leanbh, an affectionate way to address a child.
Tamora Pierce gave Alanna a substantial fictional life in Alanna: The First Adventure, published in 1983. Alanna of Trebond wants to train as a knight; her twin brother Thom wants to study magic. Their father’s plans suit neither of them, so they exchange paths. Alanna calls herself Alan and begins her training in the imaginary realm of Tortall.
The author was using an existing name. American records already include girls named Alanna in the 1930s, well before the novel.
Alanna's name family
One shared root links 4 names across 2 languages.
Shared root: a Breton name of uncertain meaning, brought to England by Breton settlers after the Norman Conquest; "little rock" and a connection with the Alans, an Iranian people, are proposed explanations
The family
More branches
How popular is Alanna around the world?
In the United States, 4,476 babies were named Alanna between 2020 and 2025. In Puerto Rico, 25 babies were named Alanna in 2025, and 788 have carried the name since 1998.
Alanna is on the official records of the United States, Puerto Rico, Mexico City, Ireland, Argentina, Chile, Scotland, South Australia, Canada, England and Wales, Brazil, France and Spain.
Alanna crosses languages: it is in the latest top 300 of an English-speaking birth record and of a Spanish-speaking one. The full list: English and Spanish
United States
1 in 4,900
In the United States, 4,476 babies were named Alanna between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Alanna peaked in the 2020s. In US birth records Alanna has stayed between 423 and 6,175 births in every decade since the 1950s: a name everyone knows and few children get.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Puerto Rico
1 in 720
In Puerto Rico, 25 babies were named Alanna in 2025, and 788 have carried the name since 1998.
share of that year’s births on record
First given name only, from Social Security records of births in Puerto Rico; any name-sex-year under 5 births is withheld at source. Shares divide by the Puerto Rico Demographic Registry’s count of births on the island; the 2025 count is provisional. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, territory name file (Puerto Rico)
Mexico City City
1 in 3,600
In Mexico City, there were 33 registrations of Alanna in 2022.
share of that year’s registrations in the city
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023 (2 registrations through 3 Mar) is excluded as partial. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Ireland
1 in 3,900
In Ireland, 14 girls named Alanna were born in 2025, the 294th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
Argentina
1 in 4,000
In Argentina, 165 newborns were given the name Alanna in 2024.
share of that year’s name registrations
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Chile
1 in 5,100
In Chile, 35 girls were registered as Alanna in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.
share of that year’s name registrations
First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021
Scotland
1 in 7,600
In Scotland, 6 girls named Alanna were registered in 2024, the 476th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
South Australia
1 in 9,2002017
In South Australia, 2 girls were registered as Alanna in 2017.
The count never rose above 9 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Canada
1 in 9,600
In Canada, 38 girls named Alanna were born in 2024, the 772nd most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
England and Wales
1 in 13,000
In England and Wales, 44 girls named Alanna were born in 2025, the 816th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Brazil
1 in 28,000
At the 2022 census, 7,311 people in Brazil were named Alanna, ranked 2,110th, with a median age of 10.
Among people named Alanna living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 2010s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
The census also counted 1,497 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
France
1 in 43,000
In France, about 15 girls named Alanna were born in 2025, ranked 2,145th among girls that year.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)
Spain
1 in 130,000
In Spain, 337 residents are named Alanna, ranked 3,026th among women, with a mean age of 5.7 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
Austria
last on record 2024
Alanna is not on the 2025 record for Austria, which publishes every first name down to a single birth, so the name was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
Montevideo City
last on record 2009
Alanna is not on the 2011 record for Montevideo, whose registry withholds nothing, so the spelling was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
New Zealand
last on record 1990
Alanna is not on the 2025 record for New Zealand, where names under 10 in a year are excluded at source.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
Not on the record in Poland: that registry withholds small counts, so rare uses may sit below its floor.
Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Alanna
Most people given the name Alanna in the United States are teenagers or young adults today.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
The Alanna deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Alanna truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Alanna fits with your family’s names and surname.
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