Given name & surname
Nan
“one who is pure; chaste”·“a woman graced with God's favor”
Nan is a diminutive of Agnes. One Greek interpretation is “one who is pure; chaste.” In English use, Nan is a diminutive of Nancy. In English use, Nancy carries the interpretation “a woman graced with God's favor.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Nan is a diminutive of Agnes. One Greek interpretation is “one who is pure; chaste.” In English use, Nan is a diminutive of Nancy. In English use, Nancy carries the interpretation “a woman graced with God's favor.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Nan is a diminutive of Agnes. An origin associated with Agnes is Greek.
Explained through its name family
How it developed
In English use, Nan is used as an affectionate form of Ann.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Nan through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 10,274
- 0 boys · 10,274 girls
- Most popular year
- 1947
- 255 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for girls is 6 in 2022. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for girls was 255 in 1947. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 9,307 as a first name in 2020; 993 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.
Nan’s family of names
In English usage, Nan is a diminutive of Nancy. Nan has a surname derivative in Nanson. In West Frisian usage, Nan has a related form in Nanne.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Nan has relatives in 6 languages.
9 related names in 6 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 5
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 2
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 8
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 3
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Nan
- Nan GoldinAmerican photographer (born 1953)
- Zhang NanChinese badminton playerborn 1990
- Wang NanChinese table tennis player (1978-)
- Nan GreyAmerican actress (1918-1993)
- Nan MartinAmerican actress (1927–2010)
- Yu NanChinese actressborn 1978
- Zhang NanChinese gymnastborn 1986
- Chen NanChinese basketball player (born 1983)
- Nan LeslieAmerican actress (1926-2000)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Nan, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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“one who brings joy to others”
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“light”
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Susann
Susann is a feminine given name. It is used in Swedish.
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“compassion” · “a beloved companion”
>99% girls