How Many People Are Named Canaan?
An estimated 5,871 people in the United States have the first name Canaan. It is predominantly male (94.7%). The average bearer is 16 years old, and Canaan peaked in popularity in 2016 with 385 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Canaan 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 Canaan paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- Canaan is a modern name. With an average bearer age of just 16, it has gained most of its popularity in recent years.
Estimated Living Americans
5,871
About 1 in 58,381 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Rare
Predicted Gender
Male
94.7% confidence
Average Age
16
years old
Peak Year
2016
385 births
Total Registered
5,947
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Canaan
Canaan is predominantly male (94.7%), though 318 female births have been registered. It functions as a unisex name for a small percentage of bearers.
Canaan as a male name
Ranked #1,087 in 2024
199 male births in 2024
Peak: 2016 (385 births)
Canaan as a female name
Ranked #9,738 in 2023
10 female births in 2023
Peak: 2010 (19 births)
Canaan: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Canaan span from the 1970s to the 2020s, covering 6 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 2010s, when 2,449 babies were registered. While Canaan is less common than at its peak in the 2010s, it remains a well-established name with steady registrations.
Canaan by Decade
How has Canaan 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.
Canaan by State
Birth registrations for Canaan span all 33 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in Texas, Tennessee, North Carolina. The lowest are in Oregon, Nevada, Connecticut. On average, about 111 Canaans were registered per state.
Canaan + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Canaan as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Canaan
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
Canaan: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Canaan?
We estimate approximately 5,871 people named Canaan 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 58,381 Americans share this first name.
Is Canaan a common name?
Canaan is classified as "Rare" and is more popular than 96.9% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 5,947 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Canaan most popular?
Canaan reached peak popularity in 2016, when 385 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Canaan is approximately 16 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Canaan a male name?
Canaan is predominantly male. 94.7% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Canaan Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Canaan Smith, Canaan Johnson, Canaan 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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