Given name & surname
Kannan
“the Buddhist deity of mercy”
Kannan is a variant of Krishna. One Hindi interpretation is “in Hiniduism, an avatar of Vishnu, portrayed as a handsome man playing the flute.” Kannan is a variant of Kannon. One Japanese interpretation is “the Buddhist deity of mercy.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Kannan is a variant of Krishna. One Hindi interpretation is “in Hiniduism, an avatar of Vishnu, portrayed as a handsome man playing the flute.” Kannan is a variant of Kannon. One Japanese interpretation is “the Buddhist deity of mercy.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Kannan is a variant of Krishna. An origin associated with Krishna is Sanskrit. Kannan is a variant of Kannon. An origin associated with Kannon is Japanese.
Explained through its name family
How it developed
Kannan is used as a variant of Krishna.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1998. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Kannan through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 345
- 345 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2018
- 26 babies
- 2025
- 17
- #5,499 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −5%
- Steady
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 17 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 5,499 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 4.8% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 26 in 2018. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 895 as a first name in 2020; 2,584 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.
Kannan’s family of names
Kannan has a related form in Krishna. Kannan has a related form in Kannon.
Inner ring: spellings · outer: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 2
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
People named Kannan
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Kannan, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Kaidan
“a beloved companion”
96% boys · 4% girls
Candan
“a sincere man”
>99% boys
Kawhi
>99% boys
Canyon
“from the footpath” · “from the deep ravine”
92% boys · 8% girls
Kivaan
>99% boys
Kasion
>99% boys
Camdon
“of the enclosed valley” · “from the winding valley”
>99% boys
Coehn
>99% boys