Given name & surname · also Chinese
Shan
“resembling coral”·“one who is wise and elderly”
Shan is used as a given name and a surname. Interpretations include “resembling coral” and “one who is wise and elderly”. These belong to different or overlapping naming contexts.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Interpretations include “resembling coral” and “one who is wise and elderly”. These belong to different or overlapping naming contexts.
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 1944. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Shan through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 3,088
- 2,224 boys · 864 girls
- Most popular year
- 1970
- 105 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −51%
- Cooling
Boys, girls and both
The balance of boys and girls given this name has shifted over time. Recent births are 96% boys.
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 8 in 2024. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for boys was 73 in 1969. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 6,106 as a first name in 2020; 2,789 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.
Shan’s family of names
Shan has a related form in Shana. Shan has a related form in Shandon. Shan has a related form in Shann.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 3
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 4
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Shan
- Shan XiaonaGerman table tennis playerborn 1983
- Shan GeorgeNigerian actressborn 1970
- Zhang ShanChinese sport shooterborn 1968
- Shan TsutsuiAmerican politicianborn 1971
- Shan FosterAmerican basketball player (born 1986)
- Shan MorganBritish diplomatborn 1955
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Shan, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Shawn
“God is gracious”
98% boys · 2% girls
Guan
Guan is a surname from Chinese.
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Ngai
Ngai is a surname from Cantonese.
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Shane
“God is gracious”
98% boys · 2% girls
Shaun
“God is gracious”
98% boys · 2% girls
Kraig
“from the rocky place; as solid as a rock”
>99% boys
Bryon
Bryon is a masculine given name from Irish.
>99% boys
Dermot
“a free man”
>99% boys