Given name & surname
San
San is a feminine given name from Chinese. It is used in Turkish and Vietnamese.
Meaning & origin
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1911. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
San through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 2,502
- 626 boys · 1,876 girls
- Most popular year
- 1950
- 74 babies
- 2025
- 13
- #11,755 for girls · #13,552 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +38%
- Rising
Boys, girls and both
The balance of boys and girls given this name has shifted over time. Recent births are 60% boys.
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 8 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 11,755 among girls’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Its largest published annual count for girls was 66 in 1950. It also appeared in 5 birth records for boys in 2025. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 4,389 as a first name in 2020; 3,922 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.
San’s family of names
In Greek usage, San as a surname is a transliteration of Σαν. In Khmer usage, San as a surname is a Roman-alphabet rendering of សាន់.
Inner ring: spellings · outer: across languages.
Spellings & scripts 4
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 3
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named San
- Jeongjo of Joseon22nd King of Joseon (r. 1776–1800)1752–1800
- An SanSouth Korean female archerborn 2001
- San ESouth Korean rapperborn 1985
- SanSouth Korean singer (1999-)
- Jeong SanSouth Korean footballerborn 1989
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love San, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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42% boys · 58% girls
Rise
“one who laughs often”
76% boys · 24% girls