Yan

“Variant of John — God is gracious” — Hebrew (via John) origin

Boy's name · #2386 in the US (2025) · Trending

Yan is climbing: on the charts since 1971, it reached #2386 in 2025 — its strongest showing yet, with about 60 boys given the name last year. Roughly 990 have carried it all-time.

Around the world: about 1 in 4,200 boys in Poland (2025) · about 1 in 4,500 boys in Switzerland (2024) · about 1 in 8,900 boys in Belgium (2025).

Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 2 states. See the full state-by-state map on this page.

Famous Yans

Yan Diomande — Ivorian footballer
Yan Couto — Brazilian footballer (born 2002)
Yan Valery — Tunisian-French footballer (born 1999)
Yan Gamarnik — Soviet general (1894-1937)
Yan Frenkel — Ukrainian composer (1920-1989)

In stories & tradition

Yan Qing — Water Margin
Yan Shun — Water Margin
Yan Zheng — The Romance of the Three Kingdoms

What Yans become

Among 1,109 notable people named Yan:

Political leaders appear 1.69× more often than among typical names — e.g. Yan Karlovich Berzin, Russian politician and diplomat (1889-1938).

Similar names: Yanis · Shmiel · Iam · Shloimy · Yaziel · Ilian

Browse more boy names — popularity, trends and eras for 5,700+ American names, free.

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