Sloan
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Meaning
from the Irish surname Ó Sluaghadháin, "descendant of Sluaghadhán" (sluaghadh, "raid, mobilization")
The story
Sloan spent its first American century as an occasional boys' name, some dozens each decade from the 1910s, and then changed lanes: girls passed boys in the 1990s, and the 2010s gave the name about 3,900 girls against about 750 boys, with about 2,500 more girls so far this decade. The name is an Irish surname worn smooth: Anglicized from O Sluaghadhain, descendant of Sluaghadhan, built on sluaghadh, raid, mobilization, plus a diminutive ending. Behind the Name lists Sloane as the headword and Sloan as its variant; American families use both spellings, and this page tracks the e-less form. One syllable, a long O, and a surname finish, which is precisely the register American naming has been promoting: the unisex file is full of names drifting one way, and Sloan's drift has been all toward the girls.
How popular is Sloan around the world?
In the United States, 3,003 babies were named Sloan between 2020 and 2025.
Sloan is on the official records of the United States, Canada, Scotland, South Australia, France, England and Wales and Brazil.
United States
1 in 7,300
In the United States, 3,003 babies were named Sloan between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Sloan peaked in the 2010s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Canada
1 in 9,100
In Canada, 28 girls named Sloan were born in 2024, the 963rd most common name among girls that year.
In Canada, 12 boys named Sloan were born in 2024, ranked 1,698th among boys 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)
Scotland
1 in 15,000
In Scotland, 3 boys named Sloan were registered in 2024, the 727th most common name among boys that year.
The count never rose above 5 in a year, too few to chart.
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 18,0002017
In South Australia, 1 girl was registered as Sloan in 2017.
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
France
1 in 26,000
In France, about 25 boys named Sloan were born in 2025, ranked 1,322nd among boys 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)
England and Wales
1 in 150,000
In England and Wales, 4 boys named Sloan were born in 2025, ranked 4,275th among boys that year.
The count never rose above 5 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
Argentina
last on record 2021
Sloan is not on the 2024 record for Argentina, where small counts are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 3 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
Brazil
At the 2022 census, 57 people in Brazil were named Sloan, ranked 60,880th, with a median age of 16.
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
Not on the record in Spain, Mexico City, Puerto Rico, Ireland, New Zealand 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 Austria record for 1984 to 2025: Statistik Austria publishes every first name down to a single birth, so this name was not given there in those years (before 2010 the record covers babies with Austrian citizenship only). 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 Sloan
Most people given the name Sloan in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
The Sloan deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Sloan 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 Sloan fits with your family’s names and surname.
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