Lan
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Meaning
orchid (兰/蘭); a pinyin name occasionally chosen as a standalone American given name for its elegant simplicity
How popular is Lan around the world?
In the United States, 33 babies were named Lan between 2020 and 2025. In Austria, 1 boy named Lan was born in 2025, ranked 1,842nd among boys that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
Lan is on the official records of the United States, Austria, Spain and Brazil.
United States
1 in 660,000
In the United States, 33 babies were named Lan between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Lan has stayed rare in US records the whole time: no peak decade to name.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Austria
1 in 76,000
In Austria, 1 boy named Lan was born in 2025, ranked 1,842nd among boys that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
The count never rose above 3 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)
Spain
1 in 390,000
In Spain, 115 residents are named Lan, ranked 6,961st among women, with a mean age of 42 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
Brazil
1 in 1M
At the 2022 census, 126 people in Brazil were named Lan, ranked 35,022nd, with a median age of 30.
Among people named Lan living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1990s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
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
Argentina
last on record 2019
Lan is not on the 2024 record for Argentina, where small counts are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.
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
Canada
last on record 2016
Lan is not on the 2024 record for Canada, where names under 5 in a year are excluded at source.
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
last on record 2012
Lan is not on the 2025 record for England and Wales, where spellings under 3 in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.
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
Mexico City City
last on record 2021
Lan is not on the 2022 record for Mexico City, where small counts are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 5 in a year, too few to chart.
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, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
South Australia
last on record 2008
Lan is not on the 2017 record for South Australia, whose registry publishes every name given that year.
The count never rose above 2 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
Not on the record in Puerto Rico, Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Montevideo record for 1940 to 2011: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. 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 Lan
Most people given the name Lan in the United States were born between 1980 and 1999. The Lan you meet today is most often in her 30s or 40s.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
Chinese baby names · Vietnamese American baby names · Chinese American baby names · Vietnamese baby names · Short names
The Lan deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Lan 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 Lan fits with your family’s names and surname.
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