Conan
Masculine · “little hound”
Conan is a little hound in Irish — cú, the wolfhound, with a diminutive — and it belonged to a Breton saint and a Sherlock Holmes author long before a barbarian.
How old is the name Conan?
Conan first appears in US birth records in 1923 — 102 years ago. The typical Conan alive today was born around 1998, making them about 27 years old. About 2,300 people named Conan are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Conan most popular?
Conan peaked in 1972, reaching #1083 nationally. Today it ranks #1677, 594 places below that high. See the whole 1972 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From cú to Conan
The story of Conan
Saint Conan was a Breton or Irish bishop of the Isle of Man; the name was common in medieval Ireland and Brittany. Arthur Conan Doyle carried it as a middle name from his godfather. Robert E. Howard's Conan the Barbarian appeared in 1932. The name is in current American use.
Meaning
little hound, little wolf
From the Irish cú, genitive con, 'hound' or 'wolf', with the diminutive -án. The hound was a compliment in Irish naming — Cú Chulainn is the hound of Culann. The element is ordinary Irish and the meaning undisputed.
How the name formed
- cú
- Conán
- Conan
Related forms: Conán · Konan · Conan
Pronouncing Conan
KOH-nun
Two syllables, stress on the first. Irish Conán places the stress on the second, ko-NAWN.
Nicknames for Conan
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1923
- Most boys named
- 202598 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1083reached in 1972
- Change vs 2023
- +16.7%98 in 2025, from 84
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.
Conan in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Conán in Irish — same name
- Konan in Breton — related form
- Conan in Scottish — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Pennsylvania.
Conans among us
people named Conan are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 17,429 born in 2025 was named Conan
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Conan
- #1677
- Conan on the 2025 chart
- #806
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Conan went to 98 boys in 2025, but Konan is the same name said out loud. Together the 2 spellings went to 122, which makes it the 806th most-given boys’ name of the year — 871 places above the chart.
- Conan98
- Konan24
About 1 boy in 14,001 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 17,429 for Conan 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
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Phillips test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Conan's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Phillips climbed just as high around 1909, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Phillips's path sketches the road Conan is walking now.
Conan is on its second act. Revived names age gently: the generation that wore them first is far enough away that the name feels classic rather than dated.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Conan is headed
Conan should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
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.
Conan beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Conan in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The hound meaning is concrete and was a genuine compliment in Irish naming.
- Cú Chulainn's name uses the same element, which is real weight.
- Two clean syllables with no pronunciation risk.
- The barbarian association is strong for a whole generation.
- The stress placement differs between Irish and English readings.
- The Con clipping is unfortunate as an English word.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Conan to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Conan? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Conan
Masculine · #1677 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Conans are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 2,300 people named Conan are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Conan?
- Conan is the most-used spelling in US records — 98 of the 122 babies given the name in 2025. The others recorded are Konan.
- How popular is the name Conan in 2025?
- Conan ranks #1677 among US boy names in 2025, with 98 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Conan?
- About 1 in every 17,429 US boys born in 2025 was named Conan — 98 in all.
- Will my child share the name Conan with classmates?
- Conan will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Conan
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Kyce#1677 · Lando#1677 · Mayson#1677 · Ellison#1677 · Issa#1677 · Gibson#1677 · Kyng#1677 · Reagan#1677
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Conan? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Conan and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle