Nan
Girl name · English · French · German · Hebrew
- US rank
- Unranked
- Syllables
- 1
- Peak
- #336 in 1883
0 babies were named Nan in the US in 2025.
Save adds it to your list. Vote moves it up the top voted names.
US births per million girls, 1880–2025
Similar names
Popularity: U.S. Social Security Administration (babies with 5+ births per year).
Did you know?
A few things about Nan you might not know, from US birth records. Handy for convincing a partner, or a grandparent.
- HistoryNan has been in use since at least 1880, the first year US birth records were kept. That's 145 years of Nans, and counting.
- Best yearIts best year was 1883, when it reached #336.
- Word funNan is a palindrome: it reads the same forwards and backwards.
About the name Nan
Nan is a girl name of English, French and German origin. It has 3 letters and 1 syllable, starting with N and ending in “-nan”. US birth records list Nan for girls from 1880 to 2022, in 123 of those 143 years. Its best year was 1883, when it ranked #336 among girl names. It hasn't been given to 5 or more US babies in a year since 2022, so today it's a genuinely rare choice.
Origin:English namesFrench namesGerman namesHebrew names
| Decade | Babies per million | About 1 in |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 240 | 4,167 girls |
| 1890s | 181 | 5,511 girls |
| 1900s | 157 | 6,351 girls |
| 1910s | 104 | 9,640 girls |
| 1920s | 100 | 9,958 girls |
| 1930s | 138 | 7,265 girls |
| 1940s | 146 | 6,862 girls |
| 1950s | 114 | 8,783 girls |
| 1960s | 46 | 21,538 girls |
| 1970s | 14 | 69,493 girls |
| 1980s | 7.0 | 141,844 girls |
| 1990s | 3.4 | 294,118 girls |
| 2000s | 1.3 | 757,576 girls |
| 2010s | 0.4 | 2,564,103 girls |
| 2020s | 1.2 | 810,811 girls |
Other spellings of Nan
More English girl names
- Girl name: Olivia · olive tree
- Girl name: Charlotte · free
- Unisex name: Harper · harp player
- Girl name: Elizabeth · God is my oath
- Girl name: Lily · lily flower
- Girl name: Lucy · light
- Girl name: Lainey · possibly light
- Girl name: Scarlett · scarlet red
Questions about the name Nan
What is the origin of the name Nan?
Nan has English, French, German, Hebrew roots in our records. Other English names include Olivia, Charlotte, Harper.
Is Nan a boy or girl name?
Nan is a girl name.
How popular is the name Nan?
Nan is rare: fewer than 5 US girls got it in 2025, and it was last given to 5 or more in 2022. It peaked at #336 in 1883.