How Many People Are Named Alan?
An estimated 283,264 people in the United States have the first name Alan. While not in the top 50, it remains a well-known name ranking #178 overall. It is almost exclusively a male name. The average bearer is 51 years old, and Alan peaked in popularity in 1955 with 9,048 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Alan as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Alan paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Alan is overwhelmingly male, 1,076 female births have been registered with this name since 1880.
Estimated Living Americans
283,264
About 1 in 1,210 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Common
Predicted Gender
Male
99.7% confidence
Average Age
51
years old
Peak Year
1955
9,048 births
Total Registered
362,464
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Alan
Alan is almost exclusively a male name. Out of 362,464 total births registered, 99.7% were male.
Alan as a male name
Ranked #167 in 2024
2,183 male births in 2024
Peak: 1955 (9,033 births)
Alan as a female name
Ranked #15,770 in 2018
5 female births in 2018
Peak: 1962 (28 births)
Alan: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Alan span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1950s, when 84,119 babies were registered. Alan has declined significantly from its peak in the 1950s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Alan by Decade
How has Alan tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
| Decade | Total | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 51 | 51 | 0 | |
| 1890s | 144 | 144 | 0 | |
| 1900s | 293 | 293 | 0 | |
| 1910s | 2,020 | 2,020 | 0 | |
| 1920s | 7,045 | 7,013 | 32 | |
| 1930s | 16,409 | 16,374 | 35 | |
| 1940s | 50,392 | 50,302 | 90 | |
| 1950s | 84,119 | 83,977 | 142 | |
| 1960s | 61,585 | 61,390 | 195 | |
| 1970s | 24,959 | 24,814 | 145 | |
| 1980s | 26,996 | 26,824 | 172 | |
| 1990s | 24,198 | 24,094 | 104 | |
| 2000s | 29,741 | 29,647 | 94 | |
| 2010s | 24,263 | 24,196 | 67 | |
| 2020s | 10,249 | 10,249 | 0 | |
Alan by State
Birth registrations for Alan span all 51 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in California, New York, Texas. The lowest are in Alaska, Wyoming, Delaware. On average, about 7,040 Alans were registered per state.
Alan + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Alan as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Alan
Other first names starting with A with a similar number of bearers.
Alan: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Alan?
We estimate approximately 283,264 people named Alan are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 1,210 Americans share this first name.
Is Alan a common name?
Alan is classified as "Common" and is more popular than 99.8% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 362,464 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Alan most popular?
Alan reached peak popularity in 1955, when 9,048 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Alan is approximately 51 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Alan a male name?
Alan is predominantly male. 99.7% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Alan Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Alan Smith, Alan Johnson, Alan Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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