Han
Feminine · “Chinese Han”
Han is given to both — 646 girls and 768 boys since 1880. See Han as a boy nameSee other names given to both
A single dynasty named a people and a writing system. The Han ruled China for four centuries, and their name is still what the majority ethnic group calls itself and what the characters are called in Chinese, Japanese and Korean alike.
How old is the name Han?
Han first appears in US birth records in 1977 — 48 years ago. The typical Han alive today was born around 2003, making them about 22 years old. About 600 people named Han are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Han most popular?
Han peaked in 1999, reaching #4870 nationally. Today it ranks #10107, 5,237 places below that high. See the whole 1999 chart.
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
The story of Han
The Han dynasty ruled from 206 BC to AD 220, with one interruption, and it consolidated the imperial system so thoroughly that the name stuck to everything. The majority ethnic group of China calls itself Han, distinguishing itself from the fifty-five other recognized nationalities. The characters are hanzi in Chinese, and the same word gives kanji in Japanese and hanja in Korean, so the writing system of half of East Asia is named after a Chinese dynasty that ended eighteen hundred years ago. The Korean surname Han is separate, one of the older ones, and Korea's surname stock is famously small: a handful of names cover the majority of the population, which is why the given name carries most of the identifying work.
Meaningscholars disagree
Chinese Han, the dynasty and the people
Han is a Chinese and Korean surname and, in Korean, also a given name with several possible characters behind it. The Chinese dynastic name comes from the Han River in Hubei. As an American female name it appears mainly in Korean American families; the peak is 1999.
Pronouncing Han
HAHN
One syllable, with an open vowel. Mandarin and Korean both carry tone or length distinctions that English does not reproduce.
Nicknames for Han
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
- 1977
- Most girls named
- 200325 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #4870reached in 1999
- Change vs 2024
- −18.2%9 in 2025, from 11
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.
Han in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Han in Korean — same name
- Han in Chinese — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: California.
Hans among us
people named Han are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 178,585 born in 2025 was named Han
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Adeana test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Han's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Adeana climbed just as high around 1973, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Adeana's path sketches the road Han is walking now.
Han 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
Han beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Han in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Three letters and one syllable, easy in any language.
- It is a major name across East Asia.
- It works as a first name and a middle name equally.
- In Chinese and Korean it is primarily a surname.
- English speakers flatten the vowel and the tone.
- It will be associated with a film character by many Americans.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Han
Feminine · #10107 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Hans are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 600 people named Han are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Han in 2025?
- Han ranks #10107 among US girl names in 2025, with 9 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Han?
- About 1 in every 178,585 US girls born in 2025 was named Han — 9 in all.
- Will my child share the name Han with classmates?
- Han will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Han
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Berta#10107 · Jettie#10107 · Maye#10107 · Osa#10107 · Fidelia#10107 · Alysa#10107 · Su#10107 · Willie#10107
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Han? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Han and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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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
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