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Alanah

Feminine

1984high 2008
#2645 in the U.S.given to only a few children a year
rare65 girls in 2025

Alanah is a feminine of Alan, and Alan's Breton origin is one of the field's genuine unsolved problems.

How old is the name Alanah?

Alanah first appears in US birth records in 1984 — 41 years ago. The typical Alanah alive today was born around 2010, making them about 15 years old. About 4,200 people named Alanah are estimated to be alive in the US today.

When was the name Alanah most popular?

Alanah peaked in 2012, reaching #1136 nationally. Today it ranks #2645, 1,509 places below that high. See the whole 2012 chart.

Compare this nameMore “A” names

Lists built from the same records:

I

Where it comes from

The story of Alanah

The Alans were an Iranian steppe people, some of whom settled in Gaul in the fifth century, and one proposal connects the name to them. Separately, the Irish endearment a leanbh — my child — is proposed for Alannah. Breton settlers brought Alan to England at the Conquest. Alanah appears in American records in current use.

Meaningscholars disagree

Not established

From Alan, whose Breton origin is genuinely unrecovered. Proposals include a Celtic word for a rock or a deer, and a connection to the Alans, an Iranian people who settled in Brittany. An Irish a leanbh, 'child', is also proposed for Alannah. None is established.

How the name formed

  1. Alan
  2. Alanah

Related forms: Alannah · Alana · A leanbh

Pronouncing Alanah

uh-LAH-nah

Three syllables, stress in the middle. All the spellings of the sound are said identically.

Nicknames for Alanah

Moderate

LanaThe back of the name, and a name in its own right with a real record
AlaThe front of the name, used inside families rather than generally
II

What the data says

The long climb, and where it stands now

GIRLS NAMED · 1984–202522311202236519842025

US babies named Alanah per year from 1984 to 2025
AVERAGE RANK BY DECADE#1#10#100#1000#11361980s2020s

The same years in position rather than babies

First recorded
1984
Most girls named
2008223 — the highest on record
Peak rank
#1136reached in 2012
Change vs 2024
−23.5%65 in 2025, from 85
Alanah sits in the rare tail. Its best year on record was 2008, with 223 girls. Today it is given to few enough children that it does not enter the ranked charts at all.

Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.

Alanah in other languages

The same name elsewhere

  • Alannah in English — spelling variant
  • Alana in English — spelling variant
  • A leanbh in Irish — related form

Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Florida.

Alanahs among us

4,200

people named Alanah are estimated to be alive in the US today

About 1 girl in 24,727 born in 2025 was named Alanah

Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method

Spellings of Alanah

#2645
Alanah on the 2025 chart
#82
counting every spelling

The SSA counts spellings, not names. Alanah went to 65 girls in 2025, but Alana, Alanna and Alannah and the rest below are the same name said out loud. Together the 6 spellings went to 3,429, which makes it the 82nd most-given girls’ name of the year — 2,563 places above the chart.

and 1 rarer spelling.

About 1 girl in 469 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 24,727 for Alanah itself.

Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method

III

Is it right for you

The Latrisha test

Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Alanah's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Latrisha climbed just as high around 1979, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Latrisha's path sketches the road Alanah is walking now.

40%chance Alanah will feel “very 2010s” by 2040
Alanah, aligned on its peakLatrisha· peak 1979not yet written
#1#10#100#1000peak-30 yrs+30 yrsLatrisha · #13240Alanah today
Alanah today is about where Latrisha stood in 1992 — 13 years past a #1136-sized peak. By 2007, Latrisha had settled around #13240.
Ages quietlysteadyDates fast

Alanah sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.

A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored

Where Alanah is headed

19842030

US babies named Alanah per year, 1984 to 2025, with a projection to 2030

Alanah should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.

Steady-11% by 2030projected around #2,997 in 2030

Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.

A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.

Alanah beside its neighbors

The names ranked closest to Alanah in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.

Alanahthis name65#2645Caliana65#2645Aaira65#2645Wylie65#2645Henrietta65#2645

US girls given each name in 2025.

The trade-off

Practical strengths
  • That an Iranian steppe people may lie behind the name is a first-rate possibility.
  • Lana is available as a short form with a real record.
  • Three syllables of open vowels, which carries unusually well.
What to consider
  • The meaning is genuinely unrecovered.
  • At least four spellings of the sound are in circulation.
  • It will be respelled by other people constantly.

Nobody names a baby alone.
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Alanah

Feminine · #2645 in the U.S.

♥ Love itNot for meLet’s talk about it
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Frequently asked

How many Alanahs are there in the world?
No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 4,200 people named Alanah are estimated to be alive in the US today.
How do you spell Alanah?
Alanah is one of 5 recorded spellings. Alana is the more common one — 2,085 births in 2025 against 65 for Alanah.
How popular is the name Alanah in 2025?
Alanah ranks #2645 among US girl names in 2025, with 65 babies given the name.
How rare is the name Alanah?
About 1 in every 24,727 US girls born in 2025 was named Alanah — 65 in all.
Will my child share the name Alanah with classmates?
Alanah will almost certainly be the only one in school.

Ranked beside Alanah

Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.

Caliana#2645 · Aaira#2645 · Wylie#2645 · Henrietta#2645 · Mahogany#2645 · Amaiah#2645 · Charlize#2645 · Esra#2645

Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Alanah? See the current top 100.

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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology

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