Given name & surname · also English
Conan
“resembling a wolf”·“one who is high and mighty”
Conan is used as a given name and a surname. Interpretations include “resembling a wolf” and “one who is high and mighty”. These belong to different or overlapping naming contexts.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Interpretations include “resembling a wolf” and “one who is high and mighty”. These belong to different or overlapping naming contexts.
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is English.
How it developed
From Irish Conán, from Middle Irish Conán, from Primitive Irish ᚉᚑᚅᚐᚅᚅ, from Proto-Celtic *kū (“dog”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱwṓ.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
The name’s historical associations include a 7th-century saint.
Conan through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 2,438
- 2,438 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2025
- 98 babies
- 2025
- 98
- #1,678 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +42%
- Rising
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 98 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 1,678 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 42.0% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (11). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 1,839 as a first name in 2020; 219 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Conan’s family of names
In French usage, Conan has a conventional equivalent in the Breton form KONAN. Conan has a related form in Conant. In French usage, Conan has a conventional equivalent in the Welsh form CYNAN.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Conan has relatives in 8 languages. Lines run from its Irish roots to each of them.
Irishwhere Conan comes from · 1 name
Nicknames & forms 2
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 11
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
Show 3 moreShow fewer
See also 1
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Conan
- Conan O'BrienAmerican television show host and comedianborn 1963
- Conan GrayAmerican singer-songwriterborn 1998
- Conan OsírisPortuguese singer-songwriterborn 1989
- Conan I of RennesDuke of Brittany from 990 to 9921000–992
- Conan II of BrittanyDuke of Brittany1030–1066
- Conan III of BrittanyDuke of Brittany from 1112 to 11481095–1148
- Conan IV of BrittanyDuke of Brittany from 1156 to 11661138–1171
- Conan StevensAustralian actor, author and wrestlerborn 1969
- Conan LeeAmerican actor born 1959
Characters named Conan: Conan the Barbarian (fictional character created by Robert E. Howard).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
Similar names
If you love Conan, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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Sancton
“saint”
—