Given name & surname
Lan
“resembling an orchid”
Lan is used as a given name and a surname. One Chinese interpretation is “resembling an orchid.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Chinese interpretation is “resembling an orchid.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Chinese.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1948. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Lan through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 1,087
- 318 boys · 769 girls
- Most popular year
- 1981
- 62 babies
- 2025
- 8
- #9,372 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −6%
- Steady
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 8 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 9,372 among boys’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 14,674 as a first name in 2020; 4,062 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.
Lan’s family of names
Lan has a related form in Lann. In English usage, Lan has a related form in Lin. In Greek usage, Lan as a surname is a transliteration of Λαν.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 2
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 3
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 7
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Lan
- Lu LanChinese badminton playerborn 1987
- Li LanChinese handball playerborn 1961
- Lan BaleSouth African tennis playerborn 1969
- Lan Marie BergNorwegian politician (born 1987)
- Chen Lan150–209
- Ỷ LanLy Dynasty empress1050–1117
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Lan, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
loan
loan is a feminine given name from Chinese. It is used in Vietnamese.
>99% boys
Long
“resembling a dragon”
>99% boys
Quan
“a compassionate woman” · “a dignified man; a soldier”
>99% boys
Minh
“a clever man”
92% boys · 8% girls
Chang
“one who is unhindered”
98% boys · 2% girls
Ming
Ming is a masculine given name from Mandarin.
>99% boys
Wang
“king, prince”
>99% boys
Chun
“born during spring” · “born during the spring”
82% boys · 18% girls