Nan
Feminine · “grace”
Nan is Anne with an extra n at the front, and the n came from a misheard phrase — mine Anne, said quickly, which English rebracketed into my Nan.
How old is the name Nan?
Nan was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Nan alive today was born around 1942, making them about 83 years old. About 4,800 people named Nan are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Nan most popular?
Nan peaked in 1883, reaching #336 nationally. See the whole 1883 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From channah to Nan
The story of Nan
Hannah is the mother of Samuel, and Anne became the name of Mary's mother in Christian tradition and one of the most-used names in Europe. English produced Nan, Nancy and Nanny from it by the same rebracketing. Nan appears in American records throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and peaked around 1918.
Meaning
grace, favor
Through Anne and Hannah, from the Hebrew channah, 'grace' or 'favor'. The initial n arose by rebracketing: medieval English 'mine Anne' was reanalysed as 'my Nan', the same process that made Ned from Edward and Nell from Ellen. The Hebrew is undisputed.
How the name formed
- channah
- Anne
- Nan
Related forms: Nancy · Nannie · Channah
Pronouncing Nan
NAN
One syllable. In Britain it is also an ordinary word for a grandmother.
Nicknames for Nan
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
- 1880
- Most girls named
- 1947255 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #336reached in 1883
- Change vs 2004
- +20.0%6 in 2022, from 5
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.
Nan in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Nancy in English — related form
- Nannie in English — related form
- Channah in Hebrew — related form
Nans among us
people named Nan are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Nan sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- The grace meaning is transparent and undisputed.
- The rebracketing story is a genuinely good piece of English linguistics.
- Three letters, one syllable, and never misheard.
- In Britain it is the ordinary word for a grandmother.
- It is very short and can be swallowed by a long surname.
- It is strongly period-coded to the early twentieth century.
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Nan
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Nans are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 4,800 people named Nan are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Nan in 2025?
- Nan is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Nan with classmates?
- Nan will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More N names
The most-given names starting with N, all years combined.
Nancy#965 · Nicole#382 · Natalie#89 · Norma#2002 · Nora#20 · Naomi#47 · Nellie#533 · Nina#324
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Nan? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Nan and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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