Allan

Did you know?

A few things about Allan you might not know, from US birth records and Wikipedia. Handy for convincing a partner, or a grandparent.

⭐ Famous Allan

Allan McLeod Cormack

American physicist (1924-1998)

Choose Allan and your child shares a first name with Allan McLeod Cormack, an American physicist. A ready-made answer when someone asks “Allan, like who?” Allan McLeod Cormack's Wikipedia article is available in 63 languages, a good sign of just how widely known they are.

Read about Allan McLeod Cormack on Wikipedia ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Photo: Willy Pragher, CC BY 3.0 de (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons

• 👶How commonAbout 1 in every 7,657 baby boys born in the US in 2025 was named Allan, 223 babies in all. In a typical school of 500 kids, your Allan would very likely be the only one.
• 📜HistoryAllan has been in use since at least 1880, the first year US birth records were kept. That's 145 years of Allans, and counting.
• 🏆Best yearIt was far more popular in 1940, when it ranked #115. Today it's #1,012, so it could be due a comeback.
• 🍂TrendAllan has slipped 186 places over the last five years and now sits at #1,012. Good news if you want a familiar name that fewer kids will share.
• 📍Where it's lovedAllan is most popular in Florida, where it ranks #543, followed by Illinois (#632) and Pennsylvania (#704). It's in the top 1,000 in 9 states.

About the name Allan

Allan is a boy name of Celtic, English and Gaelic origin. It has 5 letters and 2 syllables, starting with A and ending in “-lan”. US birth records list Allan for boys from 1880 to 2025, in 146 of those 146 years. Its best year was 1940, when it ranked #115 among boy names. In 2025 it ranked #1,012, with 223 babies.

Origin:Celtic namesEnglish namesGaelic namesIrish namesScottish names